Nakineiri Itami
by Nekodoshi
Summary: FFKH crossover (with a few OC's). What starts as a mere vacation from a mundane life turns into an epic story of destiny, love, and plenty of humor. This is an awesome story! R&R! Riku's a main char!
1. Get off of me Riku!

"No Akirame, I really don't think life is quite that simple."   
  
I shifted in my spot on the palm tree that curved outward from its base, giving us a unique bench. I sighed and continued to watch the everyday glory of the tropical sunset over the gold-crested ocean. I should have known that Riku would answer like that. It was a stupid question I had asked. Even "Do you believe in fate?" Would have gotten a better response than "Do you think life is all up to chance?".   
  
I gave a quick glance down to where Riku stood against the tree, apart from the rest of us, his eyes seeing things beyond the expanse of water that isolated us here on this island. Me (my name's Akirame, if it matters), Riku, Kairi and Sora had all grown up together on this island, and were now at the active, edgy age of 16, except for Riku who had just recently turned a sober 17, making him the oldest, and therefore, our leader.   
  
"So Riku, what are your plans for getting out of here?" Sora finally asked as he slowly wrapped an arm around Kairi's waist. I couldn't help but roll my eyes.   
  
"I figure I can butter up one of the tourists and get us ride on a boat. If that doesn't work, we'll think of something else." He responded in his usual, casual tone.   
  
We were near desperation to get off of the island. We had soaked in the tales we heard told by the people who had begun to arrive at our island when we were only children and our hearts were full of adventure. Now we were itching to leave the island we now saw as a prison, and set out to have our own adventures and find the answers to long-asked questions. Of course, it was all Riku's idea, and it was he who put the idea into our heads.   
  
We continued to silently watch the sun set until Kairi and Sora finally left to go pack, leaving me and Riku, which meant I was really alone. Riku had a personality that could freeze Hell over.   
  
Which of course meant I was surprised when Riku jumped onto the tree and slid over so that we were sitting practically shoulder to shoulder. I tried to pay him no mind. What he did next was completely unthinkable and stupid. He shifted around in his spot until he was able to lay out with his head resting on my lap, his eyes fortunately never leaving the glory of the oncoming twilight. I gritted my teeth and tried to resist the urge to push him off, sending him falling the four feet to the sand below. Suddenly he looked up at me and spoke. "You're actually enjoying this, aren't you?" He asked, a mischievous smile making his aqua-green eyes twinkle, which I ignored.   
  
I looked down at him, causing my wavy, shoulder-length, blue (yes, natural!) hair to cascade down around my face. "I find it hard to find romance with someone who has the emotional IQ of a squid." I told him.   
  
Riku smiled as he reached up to gently tug on a lock of my hair. "Aw, come on, I can change." He said with a gentle tone.   
  
I lifted my head and turned my eyes to the sky for forgiveness as I gave into temptation. I scooped my hand under Riku's waist and pushed him off. "Too late." I sweetly said as I watched a sand cloud rising up.   
  
I looked down to see Riku laying face down in the sand. I began to hysterically laugh. I was then caught off guard when Riku grabbed my ankles and pulled me down, causing me to plop into the sand. "Ha! Revenge!" Riku shouted.   
  
"You'll pay for that!" I threatened him, looking up at him between strands of that had fallen into my eyes.   
  
"You're gonna have to catch me first!" He playfully shouted.   
  
I leapt up at the challenge and began to chase him across the beach. Now this, this I found exhilarating. Running after Riku, his shoulder-length silvery blue hair rushing in the wind, reaching out and grabbing the back of his black muscle shirt and pulling his perfectly built body down to the ground and landing next to him.   
  
We both laughed for a while and tried to catch our breath as we sat down cross-legged next to each other. I looked out at the ocean and was rewarded by a rare sight-a pair of dolphins leaping playfully in the water near the docks where we used to keep our boats until the tourists began to arrive and expanded them. Riku's arm gently came down to rest across my shoulders. I was too tired to resist. "How come you're never like this around the others?" I asked him.   
  
"Well, I don't feel comfortable acting like this around anybody else." He said. His arm gently slid down to my waist.   
  
"Didn't getting pushed off the tree teach you anything?" I asked him, lacing my voice with annoyance.   
  
"I learned about gravity." He said, making me laugh. I quickly stifled my giggles. I was not going to give into his evil ways!   
  
"You know, Riku, there are other girls on this island besides me." I finally told him. The dolphins both leapt high into the air and back-flipped back into the water. Somehow I felt that Riku never saw it.   
  
Riku then made him move, bringing his other arm around and pulling me into his lap. Why oh why didn't I move?! "Well, none of the other girls make want to be fun and playful, unlike you." He said with a voice that could have melted any heart, except for me, the Snow Queen...I was melting. Fast.   
  
I turned my head and looked into his eyes. They were glistening. Was there something in his eyes?   
  
"I think I'm..." I quickly cut myself short. I was not about to confess that I was falling hard for him.   
  
"Ha! I knew it!" He said. Why was I still sitting in his lap? It was...feeling impossible to move.   
  
"Knew what?" I asked him, trying to sound obnoxious and failing miserably.   
  
"You're falling in love with me, aren't you?" He teased me.   
  
"I am NOT!" I angrily growled at him, now finally standing up.   
  
I got even more ticked off when he pulled me back down into his lap. "Come on, fess up." He said.   
  
"Confess what?"   
  
"'Fess."   
  
"Never."   
  
Riku then rolled over onto his side , causing me to fall onto my back. He then pinned me in on both sides with his arms, his head directly over mine. I looked up at his face which was framed by silver strands now glowing from the fiery orange of the quickly ending sunset. "I'm not letting you up till you confess." He told me. He looked serious.   
  
I studied his face for a moment, his expression clearly one of impending romance, his eyes softly blinking, the deep aqua searching my soul, staring directly into my crystal blue ones. Was he going to kiss me?   
  
"Is there something in your eyes?" I asked, trying to change the subject. Well, his eyes were still pretty misty looking.   
  
He only smiled slightly. He was definitely moving closer to me, that was for sure. I was beginning to feel his hot breath on my neck, making me shiver with giddiness. Then the voice of my savior rang over the beach. "Akirame, time for dinner!"   
  
Riku closed his eyes with disappointment as I lifted my head and called "Coming Mom!" over his shoulder.   
  
Riku didn't move. "You have to let me up now." I told him.   
  
Riku sighed and finally leaned back onto his hands and I hastily leapt up and began to walk away. "Don't even look at him Akira. You look back and you'll make him think that he's got you hooked." I thought to myself. I looked back. He still sat in the same spot, still looking at me, a look of... smug confidence upon his face. I hastily looked away and broke into a jog.   
  
I felt better when I arrived at my house and opened the screen door. "Come on in, honey." I heard my mom say. I walked into the kitchen. Oh joy, spaghetti. Again.   
  
"Was that you and that Riku boy I saw out there on the beach?" My mom asked, obviously trying to tease me.   
  
"Oh, god, you saw us." I groaned as I took a plate and began to fork on noodles and sauce before heading to the table.   
  
"Oh, I only saw you two chasing each other around and then sitting together, that's all. Besides, I like Riku. He's a real cute boy, and a gentleman at that. Whenever he's around me all I hear is `Akira this' and `Akira that'." Well, that quickly let me know that he really wasn't just teasing me back on the beach.   
  
"How long has he been like that?" I asked my mom, trying my hardest not to sound overly interested.   
  
"Oh goodness, I think he started up sometime after he turned 17 a month ago and realized just how pretty you are." Now my mom was against me in this too.   
  
My hand went absent-mindedly to my pocked and I gasped. "Darn it! My wallet's gone! I must have dropped it back on the beach...oh man. Now Riku's going to have to come and try and return it!"   
  
At that precise moment there was a knocking sound at the door. So predictable that Riku would try and play on my Mom's judgment by playing the part of the good citizen. "I'm not getting it." I said.   
  
My mom sighed and got up to get the door. I could nearly see it from where I sat and found myself leaning in my chair so that I could see my mom talking to Riku without him spotting me first.   
  
"Well let me go get her. Akira! Riku's here to see you." My mom said as she walked into the kitchen.   
  
"I'm not going." I whispered to her.   
  
"Yes you are."   
  
"No."   
  
"Yes."   
  
"Make me!"   
  
"Fine then." My mom pulled my chair away from the table and pushed me over to the door, an evil grin of matchmaking delight twisting her face. She would pay one day for this.   
  
"Hi Riku." I muttered, talking to him through the screen in the door.   
  
"Hey `Keera." He said. I was going to kill him.   
  
I opened the screen door and walked out to meet him. "Well, give me my wallet already." I said.   
  
"Hang on a minute." He began to fumble in his pocket.   
  
Losing my patience I pushed his arm away and thrust my hand into his pocket, pulling out several wads of junk, a photo of himself posing (as he blushed madly and mumbled something about "its not mine". Whatever.) and his wallet before finally pulling out mine. "All right, you can leave now." I said, turning and walking back into my house.   
  
"Wait, Akira!" He called.   
  
"What?"   
  
"We need to talk about the arrangements to get to the mainland." Riku said, reverting to his steely, impersonal self.   
  
I stepped back out. "I'm listening."   
  
"Okay, there's this guy named Irvine Kinneas. He made a deal with me, and if we manage to meet our end of the bargain, he'll give us a lift on one the tourist boat he came in."   
  
"All right." I said, then I was suddenly overcome by curiosity as Riku glared at me, almost over my shoulder. "What is it?" I asked.   
  
"Hold on a sec, I gotta check something out real quick."   
  
Riku walked around me and approached a grove of thick foliage that grew under the platform of my house-on-stilts. Suddenly he thrust his hand in and pulled out....   
  
"JERDANIA!!!" Riku angrily shouted, pulling her up by the back of her neck.   
  
"I didn't hear anything, I swear!" The 16-year-old girl protested.   
  
"Yeah, uh-huh." Riku pulled her away from the shadow and into the light the moon provided. Her honey-brown eyes implored us both. "Tell us what you heard, or else I'll hack your hair off!" He threatened, taking a knife out of his pocket and holding it up her thick, crimson hair.   
  
"No! Not my hair please! I heard something about a guy named Irvine that's gonna give you a lift to the mainland! That's all!" She quickly confessed.   
  
Satisfied, Riku put away the knife. "Good. Now it would please me to know exactly why you were eavesdropping on us."   
  
"I... I want to go with you. I'm sick and tired of this island! I need to stretch my legs, see the world!"   
  
I looked over at Riku. Jerdania wasn't part of our group. Instead, she always preferred to go hiking in the jungle and climb trees. But, at the same time, despite her semi-clumsiness and buddy-buddy attitude, she was lovable and an excellent companion. Besides, she could cook.   
  
"Riku, let her come with us. I mean, as long as she brings some of her own stuff, she shouldn't be a problem to us." I told him.   
  
Riku stared at me, and then Jerdania for minute, then sighed. "All right. You can tag along. First, let me tell you what you'll need..." 


	2. Comienzo del Viaje

Disclaimer: The last time I checked the only thing I own is an empty wallet.  
  
CHAPTER 2:  
LET'S GET THE HECK OUT OF HERE!!!  
  
Morning came quickly. I woke up to the sound of Riku throwing rocks at my window. I sat up in my bed and tried to reorganize my thoughts. Of course! I quickly shot up, got dressed and gathered up my backpack and other necessities. Thankfully I had packed the night before. As I headed out of my room I grabbed my wallet off of my dresser and checked to make sure I had enough cash, then ran outside to meet him.  
Riku stood alone, all of his stuff crammed into a large duffel bag he had slung over his shoulder. "Let's go get the others."  
"Why did you come here first? It's going to take us longer now! We'll have to walk over to Kairi's, then double back and get Sora on the way to the docks!" I exclaimed. Of course, I wasn't stupid. I knew exactly why he had come alone.  
"Do you still want to come or not?" Riku asked me. I hated it when he got that irritated sound in his voice.  
I nodded and began to walk along the beach towards Kairi's house. Letting my aggravation go, I decided to take everything in. The gold and pink glow of the sky, the waves gently lapping at the cold sand, birds beginning to sing and call. It was a typical island morning, but this one seemed more special than the others.  
Riku gently bumped into my side. "What?" I asked, looking up to see him staring straight ahead, a small smirk giving his thoughts away.  
I rolled my eyes and looked back towards the slowly rising sun, and tried not to breath too loud so I could hear everything. Riku bumped into my side again, this time a little harder.  
"What do you want?!" I almost laughed. I tried to harden myself. There was no way in the world I was going to give into this guy. In fact, Riku hadn't starting flirting directly with me until only yesterday, and already it was driving me nuts!  
Riku still wore his smirk, although now it was bigger. He gave me one final bump and I pushed him back, making him stagger sideways. I couldn't help but enjoy it. I would repent for it later. It was too early in the day to start feeling guilty.  
Riku rejoined my side and we walked in near-perfect silence to Kairi's house. Riku suddenly placed his arm over my shoulder, letting his hand casually dangle over my shoulder, close to my face. He drew his face close to mine, and the breeze made strands of his silver-blue hair tickle my cheeks. He put his mouth up to my ear, the feel of his hot breath making my stomach twist, visions of the previous night coming back to haunt me. "Akirame..." he gently whispered.  
"What?" I gently asked. What was I thinking?!  
"Last night, on the beach, when you and I were together."  
"Yes?" Like I'd forgotten.  
"You still owe me a confession."  
"Over my dead body!" I finally said. I felt proud of myself for finally fighting back. I'd have to practice resistance more often.  
Riku smiled, a smile of confidence. Either that or he was trying to hold in a laugh. I was disgusted. He would never take me inlove! I mean, alive! Flustered, I looked ahead and saw Kairi's house quickly coming into view. As we approached Riku finally withdrew his arm and then switched back into cool-mannered-Riku-in-public mode. The only one that everyone else in the world except recently for me and maybe my mom thought existed.  
I politely walked up the wooden steps to the door and knocked, trying to shake off the jitters that suddenly formed in my stomach, making it hard to breath normally. When there was no response, Riku took a small rock and threw it at the window. So much for social grace. We were completely surprised when Sora's head came into view, looking drowsy, still wearing his black pajama T-shirt, his hair a mess. When he spotted us, his eyes grew large and he quickly ducked out of sight. A moment later he ran out to meet us, followed by Kairi. Sora looked a little sheepish, like we had caught him sneaking cookies during school.  
"And what, may I ask, were you doing at Kairi's house?" Riku asked as they joined us.  
"I spent the night, so you wouldn't have to walk all the way clear to my house, to save time." Sora tried to explain.  
"Whatever." Riku replied.  
"So, let's go already!" Kairi eagerly said, shifting the pack she carried.  
We then carried on in silence as we headed back towards the direction of the dock. Time seemed to speed up as the sun slowly rose, bringing out deep blues in the sky, streaked with white clouds. Finally Kairi broke the silence.  
"This is such a beautiful morning. It reminds me of the day Riku arrived."  
Of course, it did all of us. Riku was technically an orphan, as no one ever found out who his parents was, but he never really seemed to fit the description.  
The day he had arrived seemed impossibly long ago. I was only 6, but the memory remained clear in my mind. It was the same day that we all met and made friends. He never remembered how he had ended up unconscious on the old wooden dock, wrapped in an old, brown blanket, but it was believed that he had been abandoned by someone. There had been a great commotion that day when my mother had found him there.  
I could still remember the first time I looked at his face, his expressionless face framed by shoulder-length, brown hair, the ends fading into silver. Those unnatural, lucid aqua eyes seemed to stare straight into my soul, measuring me.  
Just moments later a young, bright, cheerful girl with chin-length reddish-brown hair and bright blue eyes walked up and introduced herself as Kairi. Shortly later Sora met us as well. We had stood there, waiting for the reason we were there to speak.  
"What's your name?" I had asked.  
"Riku."  
I sighed and woke up from my reminiscing. After all these years, I could still hardly believe the pain Riku had gone through. I had looked up his name one day in a Japanese dictionary out of curiosity, and found that his name had two meanings, one of which I knew I would never forget. "The agony of separation." I muttered under my breath.  
Riku looked at me. "Did you say something?" He asked.  
"No, I was just thinking."  
"Hmm."  
We were all deep in thought, thinking about all the things we had done here on this little island when we were interrupted by a voice. "Wait for me!"  
We turned to see Jerdania running towards us, carrying a neatly packed backpack. She wore her usual get-up, a somewhat tight black T shirt, tan capris and her hiking boots. I secretly envied her beauty. Her lightly tanned, athletic body, the honey eyes and crimson hair. Ugh.  
She quickly joined up with us. "Boy am I glad I caught you guys! There for a minute I was afraid you had forgotten me." Oops. So we had.  
The docks came into sight all too soon. There was a small group of people moving things onto one of the medium-sized house boats. The people were about our age, in their late teens. One of them, a tall, somewhat skinny man in a cowboy hat spotted us and turned to tell the others. They were obviously expecting us. "Riku!" He called out in a smooth, slightly high voice that was pleasant and friendly.  
As we approached I could see that the man was... well... charming. He had reddish-gold hair pulled back in a pony tail down his shoulders, some wavy strands hanging out from under his hat, framing his face...perfectly, going down just to his ears. His left ear, as I noticed later, had an earring hanging from it. He wore, under a long, reddish-tan trench coat, a white T shirt and simple black jeans. As he stepped forward to greet us, his forest-green eyes mischievously sparkled as he offered a gloved hand to Jerdania. Well, at least that's what she would be repeatedly telling me later.  
Jerdania smiled, already won over by his charm. "Hello there, I'm Irvine Kinneas." He said with a Texan twang, "What's your name pretty?"  
I rolled my eyes as Jerdania smiled and gave a small giggle. "I'm Jerdania."  
"Jerdania, eh? A unique name for such a beauty."  
I was getting nauseous. Irvine slowly put an arm around Jerdania's shoulder and looked at us. "And your names are?"  
"I'm Akirame, the girl is Kairi and he's Sora. I think you already know Riku." I somewhat hastily said.  
"Cool. Well, I'll take your bags, Miss Jerdania, and let ya'll board the boat. We're all ready to go." Irvine said, taking her backpack and letting us carry our own stuff.  
The boat was typical, and too boring to really describe, so I'll cut that short. The reality of what we were doing didn't really hit us until we heard the sound of the boat's motor, felt the gentle rocking of the waves beneath us and watched the island slowly slipping away. We didn't stop staring at it until it was out of sight. I felt almost like crying. What was I doing?!  
I leaned against the metal railing of the small-second level deck and sighed, trying to get my thoughts together. Riku joined me, leaning his arms against the rail, his eyes focused on something we couldn't see anymore. "I can't believe it. We actually left." Riku softly said beneath his breath, folding his hands together.  
"I know. Its scary."  
Riku turned to look at me. "Are you okay?"  
"I'm just...I don't know. I feel so unsure about everything."  
"I know. I've always felt that way. But know, I know that we're going to discover something that will change everything. We'll have lots of challenges along the way, but I know that somehow, no matter where we go or what we see, we'll always be able to go back. I think we're going to really find something."  
I looked up at Riku. He had a look of anticipation and confidence in his eyes. I could see the smile beginning to form in the corners of his lips. Somehow, I knew he was right. 


	3. Dragons&Chocobos

CHAPTER 3   
  
DRAGONS & CHOCOBOS   
  
The five- hour trip wasn't quite as long as I though it would be. On the way Irvine introduced his pals on the boat, the whole time his arm around Jerdania's waist. I wished it would stop.   
  
There was only four other people, but they were of little importance to me. I tried to keep away from the others and sat down on a plastic chair near the back of the boat. I closed my eyes and tried to clear my thoughts. I was nearly asleep when I heard a strange sniffing sound. It was probably a dog, sniffing my shoes. I slightly kicked my foot, but the darn thing wouldn't quit it. I opened my eyes and sat up.   
  
My eyes got wide and I jerked back, causing the chair to tip over backwards. I quickly jumped up and tried to edge away from the bright red, four-legged, four-horned, black-winged, pony-sized dragon that was approaching me.   
  
"Eeeek! Get away!" I screamed, backing away.   
  
Riku and Sora heard me and came running over to see me standing there scared stiff, trying to look the creature in the eye. The dragon turned its head back to see the two guys coming. "Oh dear, not again." The dragon sighed with a slight Scottish accent.   
  
"You can talk?!" I said, beginning to feel overwhelmed as the boys rushed to my side, getting ready to defend me.   
  
"Well, duh. I am half-human, after all." The dragon said, rolling his eyes.   
  
There was absolutely nothing human about him. The dragon could see that we obviously didn't believe him. "Hang on, let me show you." The dragon closed its eyes and put his head down.   
  
My eyes all but popped out of my head as it stood up on its hind legs and its anatomy changed, scales fading into skin and claws becoming fingers, a tail simply slipping away.   
  
There now stood before us another teenage boy about our age in a pair of black leather pants, a white T shirt and a brown leather vest hanging open. He ran a gloved hand through his red-and-black streaked, shoulder-length hair. His brown eyes looked at our stunned faces.   
  
"You have to believe me now." He said, his voice rolling with the same slight Scottish accent.   
  
"Darn." I thought to myself. "Why do all the decently cute guys always have to be half-human?" I looked over at Riku and Sora, the two boys I had always thought of as being half-alien.   
  
"My name's Red." He held out his hand and I shook it. "Genuine human-dragon hybrid."   
  
"How cool!" Sora said. I had to agree. Until now, we had never seen a genuine monster. Well, except for the recently discovered Riku-zilla.   
  
"So, what in the world are you doing on this boat with the likes of Irvine?" I asked.   
  
Red turned to look at me. "Well, I'm actually sort of a friend of his. We go way back. I've known him since he was a child."   
  
"And how old are you, exactly?" Sora inquired.   
  
"Seventeen," he said, making us shrug our shoulders. "hundred" he finished, making our jaws drop.   
  
"Boy, you sure are well-preserved." Sora commented.   
  
"It's the side effect of being half-dragon. Dragons can live for quite a while and rarely ever die of natural causes."   
  
"Boy. Have you met Kairi yet? She would get a kick out of this!" Sora excitedly said.   
  
I rolled my eyes at Sora's not-so-carefully chosen words. "I have. Her reaction was somewhat more calm than that of you, Akirame."   
  
"So she told you our names. That's nice. Did she also tell you why we're out here?" Riku asked.   
  
"Actually, not yet, but that is of interest to me, why five teenagers would leave their island home and never tell their parents."   
  
"They'll know soon enough. And our reason for leaving is because we were tired of living in a prison surrounded by water. We've left in search of, well, adventure or something like that."   
  
Boy, Riku had a way with words.   
  
"I see. Well, I can't tell you how much I've craved a good quest! I haven't been on one for quite a while now."   
  
You already know what was going to happen next. Of course, Red ends up joining our party, making us a group of six. Oh joy. Another person to tell us what to do.   
  
Somehow or another, the boat which had been newly christened the "Idiot Yacht", thanks to yours truly, finally arrived in a huge, busy docking area. Beyond the brief concrete beach was a sight that reminded us of just how far from home we already were. Instead of palm trees, sand and warm air, there was a wide grassy expanse hedged by a forest. The air was slightly cold and crisp, making me feel oddly refreshed.   
  
Irvine, who, as usual, had a arm hooked around Jerdania, pointed out the blue building in the distance. "There she is. Balamb Garden, home sweet home."   
  
I silently admired the difference in scenery. If only my Mom could see me now. Then again, she'd probably kill me if she could.   
  
Irvine and his nameless, unimportant friends started walking into the knee-high grass. "So, we're walking all the way?" I asked Red beside me.   
  
"Not all of us. I'm flying." Red, as we from now on will simply put it, transformed back into his dragon form and leapt up, spreading his wings and soaring off, leaving us behind.   
  
"Jerk." I muttered to myself.   
  
Somewhere in the cover of the forest, something was watching. I could feel its eyes scanning us, checking us for weaknesses, planning something. Something evil. Shuddering, I moved closer to Riku for protection. As expected, Riku took it the wrong way and I could see a smirk forming. I rolled my eyes. "Riku, there's something out there. I can feel it. It's watching us. I don't think this is a good idea." I whispered to him, not wanting to alarm the others.   
  
Riku was about to respond when Irvine suddenly stopped short and put his hand out, signaling for us to stop. He then put his fingers to his lips and gave an ear-piercing whistle. Everything was silent for a moment, then the sound of strange, galloping feet could be heard. The look on my face must have been classic as I saw the heard of horse-sized yellow birds rushing towards us. "What in the world?" Kairi said, standing closer to Sora.   
  
"Chocobos." Irvine said with a smile, winking at Jerdania.   
  
The herd of birds slowly came to a stop in front of us. The birds were evidently tame, and all bore saddles and reigns. "We're going to ride the chickens?" Riku asked, raising an eyebrow.   
  
"Chocobos." Jerdania corrected him.   
  
"Whatever."   
  
"Alright ya'll. Let's see, there's about ten of us here, and there's five Chocobos. That means we'll all have to share. I'll take Jerdania." Irvine announced, grabbing her wrist and leading her to a bird.   
  
"I'll go with Kairi." Sora said, and the two mounted a bird.   
  
"I'm not with Riku." I said, walking towards a bird and quickly pulling myself on.   
  
"Too late." Riku replied in the same sing-song voice, getting on behind me.   
  
"Ugh." Why me?   
  
As soon as we were all set the birds began to gallop towards the building at a dizzying speed. I couldn't help but laugh as my hair flew back. Riku, however, got to eat the hair as it blew directly into his face. Uncomfortable, he shifted around and then leaned forward, resting his head on my shoulder so he could see. Ugh. Physical contact. "This is great!" I heard him laugh into my ear.   
  
"Well, it was."  
  
I spoke too soon. Suddenly in front of us a figure flew up out of the grass, startling the Chocobos,  
  
making them jump back and ruffle their feathers. "What was that?!" I heard someone cry.   
  
We all looked around us but couldn't see where it had come from. "It was moving so fast." I heard Kairi mutter under her breath, slightly tightening her arms around Sora's waist. Sora looked just as alarmed.   
  
At least Riku had sat up behind me, and was now fully alert. A stone mask had slid over his face, making it impossible to tell what he was thinking. "R-Riku, are you...okay?" I heard myself asking.   
  
"It's not safe to stand here. Akira, I need you to switch spots with me." I quickly obeyed, standing in the saddle and swinging myself around him.   
  
Riku looked around for a minute, his eyebrows tensing. "Come one, come ON! LET'S GET OUT OF HERE!" he shouted, jabbing his heels into the Chocobo's sides, making the bird leap forward.   
  
I quickly leaned forward and tightly wrapped my arms around Riku's waist. It wasn't like I was scared or anything. Well, okay, so maybe I was scared... a lot. I mean, come on, give me a break. You'd grab the waist of the guy who's driving too, if you were in my spot!   
  
The others quickly followed behind us. I began to panic as saw the grass in front of us parting as something invisible sliced through it. A silver and black streak flew up at us from the side, threatening to knock us off. Riku tightly jerked the reins and twisted in his saddle, steering us away in a tight turn.   
  
I looked back and could see the streak rushing back up out of the grass in front of Sora and Kairi's Chocobo. The bird gave a terrified squawk and jumped back at an awkward angle, causing it to fall over, dumping the riders into the grass. "Riku!" I screamed.   
  
He looked back and saw the rider-less Chocobo running off. He made another gravity-defying turn with the reins and rushed up alongside the fleeing bird, then reached out and grabbed the reins with one hand, still steering with his other. I took the other bird's reins and let Riku steer us back toward the spot where Kairi and Sora were now trying to run from something invisible in the grass. We rushed past, relieved when Sora and Kairi both grabbed part of the saddle and mounted while we still moved, barely being missed by the streak which now rushed toward us. I braced myself as I let go of the reins and Riku kicked the bird again, making it whiz forward at a break-neck speed, trying to catch up with the others.   
  
After what seemed to be an eternity, I finally opened my eyes, (Hey, when did I close them?) and lifted my head from where my face had been buried in Riku's back. (How embarrassing!) I looked back and could see the grass parting, moving away from us. "Thank Cetra! It's leaving!" I muttered.   
  
Riku turned his head to look over his shoulder at me. "If you're still scared, you can hold me again." He teased.   
  
"I wasn't scared! I was... hanging on so I wouldn't fall off!" Hey, it was true! Well, mostly.   
  
"Whatever."   
  
I groaned and leaned in the saddle to see past Riku. I could see the beautiful and strangely designed Balamb Garden only a little ways away. The rest of the ride was somewhat pleasant, although tense, and it seemed impossible to keep from constantly scanning the area. If Riku just wasn't a darn four inches taller than me I would have had a better view. Darn you Riku!   
  
I looked at our companions and could see that Jerdania was happily holding the waist of Irvine, looking up at him with adoring puppy-dog eyes. Yuck. The other four unimportant characters were now looking very much relieved, and Sora and Kairi were now very much enjoying themselves, turning to look at each other and laughing as Sora kicked the bird to go faster.   
  
We finally slowed down as we approached the entrance of the school. We finally jumped off the Chocobos and followed Irvine to what was apparently a Chocobo stall house. After putting the birds back and making sure they were fed and watered, I couldn't help but feel a small sense of accomplishment.   
  
"Riku, you ride a Chocobo with skill far beyond your experience." A voice said from behind us. We all turned to see Red standing there in his human form.   
  
"Where were you? We really could have used your help out there!" Irvine scolded.   
  
"I can't help it if I'm faster than you! Jeez. And when I did hear all the commotion, Riku here seemed to have everything under control for the most part."   
  
"You still could have warned us or something."   
  
"Aye. Well that's all done for now. Irvine, why don't you go ahead and show these guests around, introduce them to Leon and Vanchessca?" Red suggested.   
  
Irvine complied and led us away from the stall and up to the open entry gate. I looked up and couldn't help but admire the beauty of the school. 


	4. Balamb Garden

Disclaimer: I own copies of the video games FF8 and FF7, but not the companies who made them. I don't own stock.   
  
(A/N: To all of you who are immediately expecting a SquallXRinoa deal, sorry. Instead I have replaced Rinoa's name, not character or anything else. Except for maybe how she looks. Her name will now be Vanchessca Locke. It was a request made to me by one of the people who pre-read this story. No flames about that. Now read the darn story!)   
  
CHAPTER 4   
  
BALAMB GARDEN   
  
When we had entered the campus, I looked all around. There were people of various ages in school uniforms all over the place, talking, heading to classes, having mock duels with each other, using all sorts of various weapons.   
  
I craned my neck to observe a duel that a crowd had gathered to observe. The two duelists were guys about our age (all of the sudden has everyone in the world magically turned 16, 17 and 18?!) One was a blonde, his hair hacked short in an almost military style. The other was a brunette, his hair longish, swishing about his head as he swung what looked like a cross between a revolver and a sword to block his enemy's identical weapon.   
  
"Oh no, they're at it again." Irvine said, walking over to join the crowd.   
  
We followed him and tried to peek over the shoulders of the spectators, grateful when they moved around, allowing us to get in close enough to see.   
  
Both men looked exhausted and soaked in sweat as they continued to swing and block each other's moves. Finally the brunette ducked down to avoid a blow to the head and swung his leg out, sweeping the blonde off his feet. The brunette leapt back up and held his sword, ready to strike a mock death blow. "Finish him Squall!" A female voice suddenly said, catching the warrior off his guard.   
  
In the split second it took for the brunette to regain his concentration, the blonde speedily leapt up and brought his sword down, stopping just mere inches from his opponent's neck. The two men then shook hands and swapped compliments. A beautiful girl then stepped out of the crowd to swing her arms around the brunette's waist and gently kiss him on the cheek. "You did a great job Squall." She said.   
  
Squall seemed to be somewhat cold and aloof, but hugged the girl back and gave a slight smile. "Thanks."   
  
"Squall, you and Seifer are at it again, eh?" Irvine said in a joking voice, walking over to greet his friend.   
  
"Irvine! You got back. So, how was your little `vacation' over in the Destiny Islands?" The girl cheerfully asked, still keeping one arm around Squall.   
  
"It was pretty good. Lots of girls over there. In fact, I brought a little souvenir back!" Irvine said, pulling Jerdania over to meet them.   
  
"Irvine, not again! Every time you meet a girl you just have to drag them all the way clear over here and then annoy us with your continual flirting, don't you?" The blonde fighter they called Seifer asked, approaching them, still mopping the sweat off of his forehead with a towel someone had given him.   
  
"No, this one came on her own free will, didn't ya, Jer?" Irvine asked, looking down and smiling at her.   
  
Everyone rolled their eyes as Jerdania smiled and flirted back. "So anyhow, let me introduce ya to the others that came with her."   
  
We stepped forward to greet Irvine's friends. The girl wrapped in Squall's arms introduced herself as Vanchessca Locke. "But you can call me Vanna if you want." She sweetly told us. In fact, her entire personality seemed to be like honey. She had a heart-warming smile and deep blue eyes that glistened, off-setting her deep tan and dark hair, which she had pulled back into a ponytail that swished down to her waist.   
  
"Be wary of her in battle," Irvine said, leaning close to us and whispering so she wouldn't hear us. "She may be a short 5'4" and be as sweet as a kitten, but when it comes to fighting, bang! She's a real tiger! That's why we sometimes call her Tora!"   
  
"I heard that!" Vanna gently scolded him in a sing-song voice.   
  
"Oops."   
  
Squall rolled his eyes before turning to look at small original party of islanders. "So, where'd you all come from." He said in an almost cold and expressionless voice.   
  
"Destiny Island." Riku answered, stepping behind me. I hate it when he does that! Has to be all protective of me...   
  
"Hmm. I suppose that Irvine gave you a ride out here. So Irvine, what was in it for you. You've never been the charitable type."   
  
"I uh... well..." Irvine looked awkwardly at Jerdania, hoping she would explain it.   
  
"We left our island in hopes of discovering some freedom. Besides, we have our own personal missions that we need to finish. Irvine apparently wanted to come with us." Sora told them. Boy, now even Sora was really getting into this whole silly "Journey of Fate" junk.   
  
"Oh. So in other words, Irvine is bored here at school and wants to sneak out and play hookey." Seifer summed up.   
  
"Aw, come on ya'll. It's summer. We have all of summer off! It just so happens that we live here 24/7 and drown our boredom in summer classes!" Irvine told them.   
  
"Well, at least he's right about that. Well, now that's he's already dragged you all the way here, there's no real reason to make you go back." Squall resigned.   
  
"So, do you guys have a place to stay?" Vanna asked.   
  
"Actually, no. We were planning mostly to rough it." Riku said.   
  
I screamed mentally. Riku had to be nuts! I was not going to sleep in the dirt! "I bet ya'll can stay here! We've got a couple extra dorms and we can also bunk together. Jerdania can stay in my dorm!" Irvine immediately suggested.   
  
"Well, we'll have to talk to Quistis first, and Irvine's not getting anyone." Squall said.   
  
"No! Please!" Irvine knelt down in front of Jerdania, took her hand and looked up at her with big, sad-puppy eyes, sticking out his lower lip. He really did look like he was on the brink of tears.   
  
Jerdania looked back at him with the same look and they both turned to look at us and Squall. I felt sick as I watched Irvine trying to pierce through Squall's steely eyes. A mental battle was starting to break Squall's will.   
  
Squall made a noise that sounded like a cross between a groan and a growl. "Why me," he whispered under his breath before speaking up. "I'd really hate to do this to you guys but...Jerdania, you can board with Irvine, but only if its okay with the instructor. The last thing I need is Irvine following us around all day whimpering like a sick dog."   
  
I could easily have sympathized with Squall. "Now that that most unfortunate decision has been made, let's take you guys to Quistis and see what she thinks." He said.   
  
Squall turned away and we followed him into the school and down various halls and up different stairs. I had to admire the school, how the doors on the outer rim of the school building faced toward the walls that were made of curved glass, allowing tons of sunshine to come in and giving a great view of the beautiful campus. I couldn't help but notice how Riku kept walking as close to me as he could, or kept right up behind me, occasionally bumping into me and smirking.   
  
We finally stopped in front of an office door. Squall signaled for us to stay as he knocked and entered. We could hear Squall briefly conversing with a female voice that had to be Quistis. Finally the door opened again and Squall invited us in. "Hello, I'm Quistis, Squall & Co.'s instructor." A young blonde said, absently pushing her thin, nearly invisible silver-rimmed glasses up her nose, her pale blue eyes scanning us.   
  
"Miss Quistis, These people are from the Destiny Islands, apparently on some sort of business trip," Vanna began to explain.   
  
Ha! A business trip? That was a great way to explain trying to escape from an island that was a personal prison, in search of...honor and glory, or some sort of junk like that. Actually, now that I thought of it, I wasn't entirely sure why we had left home in the first place.   
  
"...so they need a place to stay, and we were thinking that it might be possible to board them here for a while, and possibly bunk with some of them." Vanna finished. I had missed most of her explanation while mentally mocking the situation.   
  
Quistis looked at us, making a mental judgment before speaking. "Well, it would be a 40-mile walk for them to get to Balamb city, and it's already in the middle of the afternoon. I don't see any harm in it, but they can't possibly stay for much more than a week. The only obligation you're going to have is making sure that they get some proper training, and that they don't wander off anywhere without a partner. It's easy for newcomers to get lost on this campus. You already know the off-limits areas."   
  
I sighed. I already had a pretty good idea of who I would forever be stuck with. But, being strong-willed, I was not about to resign to being stuck with him without a fight. "I'm with Jerdania!" Irvine quickly rung out, grabbing her hand.   
  
Quistis sighed. Apparently she felt the same way as Squall did. "Fine. But Irvine, just, please, try to control yourself! I swear, if I hear a single complaint about you in reference to the girl from anyone, I'll personally see to it that your summer here becomes a living nightmare." she bent over to whisper in Jerdania's ear, thinking we couldn't hear her. "Irvine has a problem with girls. You'll have to stay on your guard and make sure he doesn't take advantage of you. All you have to do is just push him away and say no. That usually works."   
  
"I'm with Sor---"   
  
"Me." I quickly said, cutting Kairi off.   
  
Kairi looked at me with a strange look, then she looked at Riku, who was looking rather disappointed. For a moment she thought she understood, but the whole idea of Akirame and Riku...she dismissed the idea as quickly as it came to her. It couldn't be possible. She had to be going nuts to think Riku could ever have a thing for anyone, and especially Akirame. "I really wanted to go with Sora." She whispered to me.   
  
"Please no. Besides, isn't kinda improper to go boy-girl anyway? It would be so...awkward." I whispered back to her.   
  
Kairi thought it over. "You're right. I guess Sora will have to go with Riku."   
  
"Okay then," Quistis said. "that means Riku and Sora can go with Red, Kairi and Akirame here can stay with Vanna." She told us.   
  
Well, at least I wasn't going to be stuck with Riku. I couldn't help but sigh and relax my shoulders. "Come on, Akira, it'll be fun! I'll show you the whole place!" Vanna cheerfully said, taking my hand.   
  
I had to admit, Vanna was definitely turning out to be a fun person to hang around. I guess that meant for the time being I'd have to loosen up and get back in contact with my girly side. Oh joy. But I'd try. "Now that that's settled, Red, show Riku and Sora to their room and make sure they get a map of the place. You SeeDs are to watch them. Now, get out of here and go somewhere else. By the way, you all are to report to the weapons room by 1500 hours. Now get out!" Quistis told us, pushing us out of the door.   
  
We all stood in the hall for a minute, looking at each other and trying to decide what to do. Finally Squall spoke up. "All right guys, you heard her. Show them their rooms and make sure they get to the weapons room at 1500 hours. By the way Vanna, I'll need to talk to you after they're done training tonight." He said before leaving.   
  
Riku suddenly stepped up to Vanna and whispered something in her ear. I strained to hear what he was saying, but all I could hear was "for me." Then again, I don't think I really wanted to know what he was saying. Vanna simply smiled reassuringly at him. You just had to adore the way the light splash of freckles across her nose made her look so cute and playful. Darn natural beauty! Darn it all!!   
  
Vanna finally took my hand again and started to lead me away, just before Riku turned to tell me something. I quickly turned my head to look at him as I started to walk away. "Akira...I...uh....I'll see you later. To discuss. Things." He said, trying to keep his sensitive side from showing to the others.   
  
I nodded and walked away with Kairi, Vanna in front of us leading the way. As we walked down hallways and ended up outside heading toward the dorm building, I tried to figure out in my mind just why Riku was always trying to hide his sensitive side from everyone else. Squall seemed to be the same, trying to hide something from the world that he could only reveal to Vanna. Hmm...   
  
After walking what seemed to be a mile, we (FINALLY!!) stopped in front of a door and waited while Vanna fumbled with her keys and unlocked it. The dorm was simple, but quite adequate. It was about the size of a regular bedroom, with blue carpeting, a desk with a chair and lamp, simple white walls, a bathroom with a shower, a window overlooking the view of the sea that now looked not so far away, a regular bed and a bunk bed with a wooden frame. "I got bottom bunk!" I quickly shouted, hastily racing Kairi to it, barely beating her by tossing myself onto it and hitting my head on the wall it was flanking.   
  
We quickly unpacked our things into drawers built into the bunk. When we were done I looked at my watch. "Hmm... it's only 2:15. We still got 45 minutes. Now what?" I asked.   
  
"Well, I can take you on a quick tour on our way to the cafeteria! The others are probably there too. There's fortunately not a whole lot to see, besides the training facility and the gardens." Vanna brightly told us. "But first, I think you we all should probably change our clothes into something we can fight in later."   
  
We quickly took turns using the bathroom to get cleaned up. After waiting what seemed to be an eternity (6 whole minutes!) Kairi stepped out and finally let me in. As I changed into tough blue jeans and a blue violet T shirt I suddenly looked at myself in the mirror. My straight blue hair was beginning to turn red at the tips, especially my bangs, which now hung down in strands around my face. I had never noticed that before. The way that the red and blue began to bring out the color of my eyes, making them look like...blue diamonds. An evil grin quickly crossed my face. Poor Riku. No wonder.   
  
I straightened my self up and quickly rejoined the others, putting on the cool new brown leather hiking boots she had given me. They felt sort of weird, the way they came up to my shin as I laced them and tightened them. I hoped they wouldn't affect my movement. We then all followed Vanna towards the cafeteria, as she brightly pointed out and named people, buildings, flowers and other things. The cafeteria itself was heaven. I couldn't believe that I could actually cross a room, grab food and join my friends at a table in 0.00006 seconds. "Aw man, I haven't eaten all day!" I said, quickly picking up my sandwich and tearing into it like a predator devouring its prey.   
  
The others were eating just as rabidly, completely oblivious to the amazed stares of the SeeDs. After a while we finally slowed down and began to eat at what one would call a "normal pace" taking time to talk and discuss everything. "So, what was that thing that attacked us in the grass field?" Sora suddenly asked, changing the subject of our easy-going chat.   
  
The SeeDs suddenly lowered their heads. "We don't know." Vanna said, her voice changing to dark and serious.   
  
"I've been all over the world practically, but I have never seen anything like that before." Squall added.   
  
"Don't you think we should be worried about it? It could hurt other people." Kairi said, looking to them.   
  
"I've already told Quisits. She's going to handle it. We shouldn't worry about it." Squall told us.   
  
"We need to lighten up a little, I mean, whatever that thing was doesn't concern us now. Besides, It's already 2:45. We gotta head over to the weapons room!" Irvine said, his voice lightening up a little.   
  
We quickly finished up and followed the SeeDs to the weapons room, which was, ultimately, a room full of weapons. Squall led us over to a table covered with everything from crossbows to rifles. Riku eagerly began to sift through swords, while I took a sudden liking to the various bows.   
  
Jerdania quickly picked out a pair of long knives and a wicked looking boomerang. Kairi found a pair of fighting gloves rather to her liking and took a couple practice punches while Sora pulled out a rather interesting shield that had a razor-sharp edge.   
  
I finally had to admit I had fallen in love with a totally awesome crossbow I had found, and Riku finally pulled out a long, shapely two-edged sword that gave a strange singing sound as it sliced through the air.   
  
"So, have ya'll found your weapons yet?" Irvine asked, holding a long shotgun and aiming it at some invisible target.   
  
"Sure have." Sora said.   
  
"All right then, I guess we'll take you to the training center now to see if you can handle yourselves." Vanna said, who now looked almost exactly like Lara Croft, complete with the guns in holsters strapped to her legs, and an ammo belt around her waist.   
  
Jerdania had strapped the sheaths for her knifes likewise around her sporty black pants, and the boomerang was in its own sheath on a belt around her waist. Looked to me like Lara Croft was only one out of a set of triplets.   
  
We followed our guides out of the room and over to a different building. We walked through the entrance into what looked like a lobby, with a desk to sign in, and a single door that had a glass window beside it, allowing us to view the two Seeds that were already in there, battling against a strange tiger-like monster that had a pair of huge teeth and wings.   
  
Riku and I watched in awe as the skilled fighters began to give the monster mighty blows, and was confused when I saw a the number 120/360 appear above the monster's head, and then drop to 60/360 after it took another blow. Two more hits and instead of the animal dropping dead to the floor like I would have expected, it merely disappeared. "What was that?" I asked, turning to look at Riku who looked like he had already figured it out.   
  
"It looks like its some sort of holographic training program." He tried to explain to me.   
  
"Holograms, huh? Well, whatever it is, I don't care as long as I can't get killed."   
  
The two SeeDs inside the room exchanged complements, putting away their weapons as they walked out the door. Squall walked over to us from the table where he had finished signing us in. "All right now, I'm going to start you off with a fairly easy monster, just to see if you know what to do with the weapons you picked out. Just so that it's fair, I'll send you in pairs, just so I can check out your teamwork skills."   
  
Irvine suddenly gave a short laugh. "Ha, you're the one to talk about teamwork."   
  
Riku and I looked at each other and shrugged. Apparently an inside joke of sorts. "Okay, Riku, I want you to go in with Akirame." Squall said, walking over to a computer in the wall and typing in something.   
  
"Why me and Riku?" I asked, turning to look at him.   
  
"Because you're closest to the door. Now go."   
  
I sighed and walked into the large, white empty room. We waited a moment and then watched as a door opened in the wall and a creature that was half lion, half wolf walked out and growled at us. The number 500/500 appeared above its head, and above our head were the numbers 300/300. "Darn, that thing's stronger than we are." I said, pulling out the crossbow and stepping back several steps. "This thing's meant for long-distance battle. You stay in close and I'll cover you from back here." I said, taking a few more steps towards the back wall and pulling an arrow out of the quiver I had conveniently strapped to my waist, following the waist-strap fashion fad.   
  
*********WARNING********   
  
(A/N: The following scene has been rated R for intense violence and may contain material not suitable for children. The end of this scene will be marked off with asterisks and severed limbs.)   
  
  
  
A loud buzzing sound marked the beginning of the battle. The creature roared and quickly leapt across the room and landed on Riku, pinning him on his back. I quickly loaded my crossbow and pulled the trigger, sending an arrow directly into the monster's shoulder. I couldn't help but feel a little woozy as blood began to trickle from the wound. This was far too realistic. The monster turned to look at me and gave a roar that sounded like a tea kettle releasing steam. I hurriedly loaded another arrow and shot it into the monster's side. The animal finally stood up to oppose me, releasing Riku, who took the sword he held in his hand and plunged it upward into the horrible animal's stomach. A tiny stream of blood trickled down the sides of the sword, and splattered onto Riku's face and clothes as he quickly withdrew his sword. The animal gave another ear-splitting roar. I quickly looked up at the animal's number. 200/500. "It's getting weak! Don't give up!" I shouted to Riku, loading another arrow.   
  
The animal angrily growled and leapt over Riku's head and began to charge towards me. I panicked as I shot off an arrow and narrowly missed the animal's head. I backed up and hit the wall. I closed my eyes and screamed as I felt the animal's claws plunge into my shoulder as it knocked me over. Suddenly I heard a loud cry come from seemingly out of nowhere. Was it me? I opened my eyes that were flooded with tears and saw Riku flying through the air, his sword held downward in his hands. He yelled in anger as he violently plunged the sword down into the monster's back. "GET OFF OF HER!" He screamed as he jerked his blood-streaked sword back and prepared to strike again. The animal shrieked and leapt off of me, giving me the perfect shot of its belly.  
  
Unable to load my crossbow in time I took a arrow out of my quiver and in what seemed to be slow-motion I took it arrow in my hand and leapt upward, ramming it as far into the animal's stomach as I could, blood rushing pouring down my hands and arms, making me feel sick, but somehow avenged.   
  
The animal stopped just short of Riku and turned to look at me, obviously weak, but looking for revenge. It looked quickly at both of us and for a moment I could have sworn I saw a wicked grin cross its face. It began to rush me, and I prepared my crossbow for a death strike. The animal suddenly stopped and made an impossible leap backwards and buried it's claws in Riku's back. I never heard myself scream. It was obscured in Riku's own scream of pain as the animal drew its arms back, ripping through my friend's shirt, skin and flesh. I angrily aimed the crossbow and pulled the trigger, sending my fury directly into the animal's neck. The creature gave a loud moan and swaggered off of Riku. I watched as the animal's eyes rolled into the back of its head and fell over. Why didn't it disappear? The carcass still lay there.   
  
A million questions crossed my mind as I rushed over to Riku, who still lay face-down on the floor, blood turning his torn white muscle shirt a dark crimson. "Riku, Riku!"   
  
I began to cry as I gently lifted him up by his waist and tried to get him to sit up, gritting my teeth as the pierced muscle in my shoulder seemed to tear. I held him upright in my lap, supporting his head with my arm. His eyes were still closed. "Riku!" I screamed, gently shaking him.   
  
To my relief his eyes opened half way, searching my face. "Come on, your injuries aren't fatal." I said, hoping he would try to stand.   
  
"You're hurt." He distantly said, seeing the blood that was all over me.   
  
"Most of it's the monster's." I gently told him. "You need to try and stand, I don't think you have any broken bones."   
  
Riku nodded. I stood up and gently helped him up, anger towards the disgusting beast I had slain burning in me as he winced, a hissing noise escaping his clenched teeth as he tried to stand. I let him put his arm over my good shoulder and lean against me for support as we walked toward the door.   
  
*****************************   
  
When I opened the exit door, I saw our friends were sitting in the lobby, busy practicing and preparing themselves, looking up and gasping when they saw us, both blood soaked and Riku trying to not cry out in pain. "Squall! I thought this was a hologram!!" I yelled as they rushed towards us to help.   
  
"Squall, you blockhead, you released a real monster instead of a hologram! They could have been killed, and Vanna, you were supposed to be watching them!!" Irvine shouted, taking Riku.   
  
"First of all, you yell at Vanna again and you die! Secondly, I made sure that it was a hologram, I double-checked it! There's no way this could have happened! It's impossible for this machine to get a glitch! Let's hurry already and get them to the infirmary!" Squall angrily shouted back.   
  
There was much more shouting and yelling as Irvine scooped up Riku and looked at me. "You able to walk?" he asked me as he got ready to head out the door.   
  
The pain in my shoulder had increased tremendously, as well as the bleeding. I quickly placed my hand over the wound, trying to make the bleeding stop. "Yeah, I think I can make it." I told him, my voice hoarse.   
  
"The rest of you, see to it that the battle room's cleaned up and get the rest of them training!" Squall shouted at them as he ran to alert the medics at the infirmary. 


	5. Rivalry Renewed

Disclaimer: I once was on a heavy medication that made me believe that I owned all of Squaresoft. However, my dosage was changed and I have now come to the realization that my thinking was incorrect.   
  
CHAPTER 5:   
  
RIVALRY RENEWED   
  
By the time we arrived, the bleeding in my shoulder had stopped, and the pain had subsided, but came back in a piercing throb when I tried to move it. Riku was beginning to regain his alertness. Two nurses, a man and a woman in blue uniforms and rubber playtex gloves, rushed out of a door followed by Squall, who carried a large black bag. The nurses quickly led us back into a typical hospital/clinic room and made Irvine leave.   
  
Squall set the black bag down on a table and made us sit down on two separate stretcher-like chair thingies like they have in clinics. One of the male nurses, an well-built African-American bearing a name tag that said Barret opened the bag and began to rummage through it, muttering something under his breath. Meanwhile, his partner, a woman with somewhat Asiatic features named Selphie, had Riku sit up and began to help him take his shirt off. I suddenly caught myself staring at him for a short, seemingly perverted moment, my eyes never leaving his face. I snapped out of it when Squall hit me in the back of my head. "I just seeing if he was okay..." I mumbled under my breath, my face turning red.   
  
Squall gave me a look that could have been a smirk as he took a curtain hanging from a rail on the ceiling and pulled it around for a partition. "Whatever. I need to cut part of your shirt off so I can clean your wound." He said, taking a pair of scissors out of the black bag.   
  
I nodded and tried to hold still when he slipped the cold, metal clippers up my sleeve. He quickly hacked off the sleeve and part of the back, revealing my whole shoulder, but gratefully leaving the rest of me covered. I stared for a moment at the dried blood crusting the rest of my shirt. I was caught off guard and gasped in pain as the alcohol in the gauze pad Squall was using to clean my wound. Riku must have heard me, and I could hear Selphie protesting as he tried to move to see me. "Akira! Are you okay?" He asked with a panicked tone of voice.   
  
"The alcohol stings really bad." I said with a clenched voice.   
  
"Tell me about it. It'll hurt worse one they start scraping off the scabs. OW!"   
  
I quickly sympathized as Squall took a strange looking spatula and began to quickly scrape off the blood that had caked all over my skin. "Why are you doing th-IS!" I asked, my voice rising when another scab was broken off. I could feel one of the deep holes in my shoulder break open and bleed.   
  
"Your wounds are contaminated by germs and sweat that have been mixed in with the dried blood." Squall uncaringly said, breaking off the last giant scab and placing a large gauze cloth over my exposed skin as he pulled the curtain back.   
  
Barret finally pulled out two separate bottles from the black bag, one holding a clear liquid that had sparkling, beautiful bubbles of light swirling in a pattern inside, the other held what looked like the liquid form of light, the bottle slightly glowing. I looked over at Riku, whose entire torso (or upper body, whatever you wanna call it) was wrapped in gauze. I stifled a small shriek when I saw that the gauze was already spotted all over with deep red. Riku saw my stare and gave me a small reassuring smile that was twisted with pain.   
  
"Now these," Barret began, distracting me, "are healing potions. This one," he said, holding up the one full of sparkling liquid, "is a regular potion for the girl's shoulder, and this one," he continued, displaying the bottle full of light, "is a mega-potion for the boy's wounds."   
  
Barret handed us the appropriate bottles. I twisted the cap off of the bottle I was given and looked at the man for instructions. "What, you've never used a healing potion before? Amateurs. You drink it, but only a sip." He told us.   
  
I shrugged with some agony and poured a small amount of the liquid into my mouth and swallowed, surprised by how quickly it worked, cooling my whole body down with what felt like a cool breeze. The holes in my shoulder began to tingle with a tickling sensation, like thousands of tiny little bubbles rushing to the surface of my skin. The whole experience took only seconds. Squall then removed the gauze from my shirt and examined my shoulder, and then replaced the dirty bandages for some reason far beyond my comprehension. Probably out of sheer stupidity, but hey, I had to do it so it could play into the next scene! "Completely healed. Keep the potion. You'll probably need it for later use. And also, here's a Garden uniform to compensate for clothes you're wearing now. I'll show you the way to the showers. He told me, handing me a plastic bag that contained clothing.   
  
I was joined by Riku, who also still had gauze bandages wrapped around him which he tried to cover with a jacket Selphie quickly handed to him. We were lead down the long, brightly lit hallway and left in a large shower room filled with separate small shower rooms, each holding racks of towels, shampoos and soaps. I reached over my shoulder and tried desperately to remove the disgusting, grimy gauze pad from my shoulder, only able to remove part of the tape holding it down. "AUGH!!! GET OFF ALREADY!" I aggrivatedly shouted, on the brink of tears as I stretched my arm around and tried to grab the tape that was just beyond my reach.   
  
"Do you want help with that?" Riku asked, his bandages already off.   
  
I couldn't help, and I know that you wouldn't either, but stare for a moment at him, how the jacket he wore was hanging open, as he was about to take it off and head into a shower when I had starting screaming. I slapped myself mentally and actually looked at his face. I really don't think he noticed...despite that evil, wicked smirk, the smirk of death that twisted his face and made his eyes shimmer with an evil fire! "Oh...um... I think I can get it." I said, stretching my arms around and making pathetic attempts to reach the bandage.   
  
"Here, let me get that for you." He politely said, walking over to me and began to gently, and slowly, remove the tape.   
  
"Darn it, just rip it off! I'm not getting any cleaner here!" I barked at him, not comfortable in the sensuality of the situation in the lest.   
  
"Whatever you say." He said, grabbing the tape and wrenching it off, making a loud ripping sound and pulling out nearly every last hair that existed in that region of my back.   
  
I really, really tried hard not to scream. I thanked him in a high pitched voice and quickly made for one of the shower rooms. "Now for a cold shower." I muttered under my breath.   
  
I quickly undressed, showered, shampooed, soaped, dried and redressed myself within a matter of minutes, grateful for the light scent of strawberries and peaches that replaced the stench of sweat.   
  
The uniform was most comfortable, consisting of tight but comfy black jeans, a white short-sleeved T shirt and a black leather vest that had zipped up to the neck that made a collar around my lower neck. I put on my graciously cleaned hiking boots and suddenly noticed I was missing my weapons. I wondered where they could have gone. Trying to shrug it off I finally walked out and saw that Riku was still waiting for me next to the exit door. He approached me and gave me a smile. "We have to hurry and catch up with the other guys." He told me.   
  
Hey, at least he didn't hit on me like I know all of you readers were expecting! See, Riku can be spontaneous at times! Anyhow, we walked out of the room in silence and were led out of the building by Squall. I looked at his face and saw the usual cold expression. I couldn't tell if he was burrowing his eyebrows and slightly scowling because he was mad about the training program, worried or disgusted with us, or if he was thinking at all. I looked over at Riku and saw that his head was dropped and he was staring at the carpet as we walked along. I couldn't believe what we had just been through in only...I stole a peek at my watch. In only two hours. And we had only been away from home for a day, and had already had enough adventure for a week! What was with this place?!   
  
We ended up back at the training building where our friends were being "forced to train against our will" as they put it when they greeted as after they finished.   
  
"No, we were greatly worried, but the SeeDs made us work out! We really, really, really wanted to see you guys, But they wouldn't let us!" Jerdania said, standing close to Irvine.   
  
"Well, the training session is over anyhow. So, now what?" Sora said, slinging his blood-free shield over his shoulder.   
  
We all looked at Riku, and then to the SeeDs. "Well, I was hoping ya'll could stay for four more days, just `till the end of the week, ya know? Then I could have everything arranged and I could set off with ya'll." Irvine said, mostly to Jerdania.   
  
Heck, if I had gotten my way we would have left right then and there. Jerdania could stay with Irvine for all I cared right then. She wasn't even in our original group!   
  
"Well, despite the fact that we can all visibly see Akira tensing up, and I know this will just get her really ticked off but...we did have a deal." Riku sighed.   
  
Well, he was right about the ticked off part! After what I had just been through, I had a lot better things I could do with my time than go back in and repeat the process. "So, were are my weapons?" I asked.   
  
I suddenly spied them in Sora's hands. He quickly withdrew them from my sight. "Woah, I don't think we need to communicate our feelings that strongly, do we?" He nervously laughed.   
  
"Oh, geez, I'm not going to kill anyone, Sora!" I told him, trying to grab my weapons from him.   
  
He relaxed a little and forked over my crossbow and quiver. I hastily loaded an arrow and aimed it at Irvine. "I'm just going to mutilate him!" I evilly cackled, fingering the trigger.   
  
Everyone screamed as Irvine ducked and someone tackled me from behind, knocking the weapon out of my hand. "Effective communication is overrated!" I shouted, struggling to get free as I felt something being tightly strapped around my legs.   
  
"What are you doing?!" I shouted as someone pulled my hands around behind my back and tightly secured them with a belt.   
  
"I think you need a little time out to cool down. Akira, I know we just had a really bad experience in there, but we need to train so we can strengthen up! It's not like I want to be tackled and left for dead by a 4-year-old." Riku explained as he secured the buckle.   
  
"Yeah, right. Like anyone in Riku's physical condition could be left for dead by a 4-year-old. That's giving him way too much credit. A 2-year-old was much more realistic." I sarcastically commented, earning a slap in the back off the head.   
  
Riku picked me up off of the ground and slung me over his shoulder. "Where are you taking me?" I asked him.   
  
"I don't know, we haven't decided yet. Should we toss her over a waterfall or hide her in the woods?" He asked.   
  
"Ha ha, very funny." I said.   
  
"I vote waterfall." Kairi said, earning my most deadly look. "You can't hurt me, you're still tied up." She told me.   
  
This was really touching. Being forced to stay in a place I already loathed, getting tied up, insulted and stripped of power! These people were truly friends I would treasure for a lifetime. Especially Riku. Oh, one day I had to get back. But how? I needed a plan. I suddenly felt Jerdania lift my head up. "It that a roll of-" my words were cut off by the loud ripping noise and the large piece of duct tape that was tightly placed over my mouth. I began to angrily growl and try to MMM! MMM! Out their death. I was interrupted when Riku bounced me on his shoulder. The others began to chuckle but were interrupted when a young SeeD cadet came running up to us. "Mr. Leonheart?" the young male asked, quickly eyeing me.   
  
I tried to communicate the situation to him by desperately MMMing, and got bounced on Riku's shoulder again. "Speak, cadet." Squall said.   
  
"We've finished assessing the situation in the training center. You were the first ones of the day in there. Someone must have come in earlier, probably during the night or yesterday and hacked the system." He became slightly distracted when I kept trying to get his attention.   
  
"Very good, Cadet Erik. Is there anything more?"   
  
"No, sir. Um, Instructor Squall, what's up with the girl?"   
  
"Oh, her? Prisoner of war. You want her?" I was surprised to discover Squall's hidden sense of humor.   
  
"I can really have her?" Oh god, no.   
  
The group looked at Riku. I turned to look at his face and pleaded with my eyes, trying to manipulate his sensitivity, and then looked at the others, desperately shaking my head. Riku bounced me again. "Wait a minute, who are we at war with?" The cadet asked. I silently thanked heaven for the kid's hidden intelligence.   
  
"Dollet." Squall simply said.   
  
"Wow. I thought that war had already ended." Never mind.   
  
"A new one started." Liar.   
  
"Really. So, how old is she? I could use a new training partner. All of my friends went home for the week." Oh joy. I could hardly wait for target practice.   
  
"You're how old? 16, 17?"   
  
"16, sir."   
  
"Yep, she's your age."   
  
"All right. So, can I have her?"   
  
The group looked to Riku again. "Well, Riku, you're her guardian, what do you think?" Squall said.   
  
"Hmm." Oh no. That meant he was thinking. "Sure, you can have her. Just don't try to hurt her or anything. If you do, you'll immediately be charged with personal assault and will be transferred." He cleverly explained, putting me down so I could stand.   
  
The cadet carefully bent down and scooped me up so that he was ultimately cradling me in his arms. "I'll take good care of her, sir. Bye the way, sir, out of curiosity, what's her name?"   
  
Riku smirked as he looked at me. "Keera."   
  
I moaned and began to make crying sounds as the cadet excitedly carried me off in the direction of the training center. He then stopped at the entrance and looked around before quickly running around back, where he gently set me on the ground and removed the duct tape. "Oh great, now what?" I asked.   
  
The cadet looked around and crouched down in front of me, signaling me to be quiet. "Shh. You need to stay quiet. I'm going to release you so you can escape." He explained, now removing my leather bonds.   
  
"That's very heartfelt of you, but I'm not a prisoner of war, and Riku isn't even a student here!" I told him, now rubbing my sore wrists.   
  
"But then why did they have you all tied up like that?"   
  
"A joke gone too far." I told him, now standing up and clenching my fists.   
  
"Woah, Keera, you're not going to kill him, are you?" the cadet asked, concern showing in his face.   
  
"Nah, it's too soon for that. And by the way, my name's Akirame. Keera's the name he uses to tease me, and it's something he'll regret one day."   
  
"Are you two like, rivals or something?"   
  
"For the moment being, yeah."   
  
"Oooh. Rivalry. Sound's like something I'd like to get into. I haven't had a decent time here since my friends left." The cadet said, surprising me.   
  
I looked over to see a mischievous grin on the blonde's face. "We could get in trouble for it." I told him.   
  
"Are you kidding me? I am the master of this stuff! I have never been caught, not even once."   
  
My odds were starting to sound pretty good, now. "Hmm..." I was still not quite sure.   
  
"Come on, I'll even help you think of something."   
  
"Oh, what the heck. You just got to promise me that it'll be able to stop after this. I really don't want to hurt him, I mean, Riku and I have always been friends, but we've always sort of been rivals too. I don't want another seven day war with him. It got brutal." I grimaced as I though of the image of me falling into a bed full of shaving cream and six people trying to pry a starfish off of his back wasn't pretty.   
  
"Okay then, we'll just go for short and sweet. I've already got a great idea. If we're successful, I'll take you out for a sundae between friends, my treat." He said, leaning forward and holding out his hand.   
  
I smiled as I firmly shook it.  
  
"You gotta deal there. Now let's hear your plan." 


	6. Ultimate Revenge

Disclaimer: I don't own squat, except for Red, Jerdania, Vanna and Akirame, whom I bought as slaves in the black market for a darn good price. They're really good at washing the dishes.   
  
CHAPTER 6   
  
"ULTIMATE REVENGE"   
  
I had already planned out what toppings I would get for my sundae as I walked toward the cafeteria. I pasted a smug look on my face as I walked in. Riku was the first to look up and see me. "Wow, that was fast. How'd you escape? Or is Erik smarter than he looks?" He called across the room.   
  
I allowed the question to roll off my back. In the end, it would be more than worth it. I sweetly smiled as I approached their table, still standing. "Ingenious joke, guys. Really. But Riku, ya know, I think it's time we grew up and stopped trying to prove ourselves through pranks." I told him.   
  
I knew that I was cutting his legs from underneath him. Riku's pride and joy were his pranks. They were the only time he felt he could loosen up, although he never confessed to them. "Are you calling me immature?" He asked me, now standing to match my gaze.   
  
"No, just slow."   
  
Mutters and laughs could be heard from other people in the cafeteria observing us. "Are you challenging me?!" Riku now asked.   
  
Now I knew I had him hooked. Riku hated to have his "almighty" authority challenged, but lived to prove himself superior. I was about to teach him humility.   
  
"I'm willing to bet that I could run the hiking trail in the woods faster than you. And, just to make things interesting, I'm willing to throw in a prize."   
  
Riku looked at his friends who were cheering him on. "What's the prize?"   
  
I leaned in closer to whisper in his ear, even though it didn't matter if anyone else heard. I was just making sure it looked real. "If I win, you have to kiss me. But if you win, I'll do anything you want me to for the whole day."   
  
I drew back and looked at Riku. For him, it was a win-win situation. There was no way he could possibly say no. "You're on. When's the race?"   
  
"Right now. Follow me."   
  
We walked out of the cafeteria followed by a small crowd of spectators who would wait at the finish line to see us off and make bets in currency of hot dogs and other things. The finish line was to be the overlook at the end of the hiking trail. I explained the rules and we got set. Irvine got out his shotgun and let Jerdania fire the starting signal, and were somewhat startled as a bird fell dead to the ground as I got off to a good start.   
  
About halfway down the trail I began to "tire out" and slowed down somewhat, letting Riku pass me. I then slowed down even more and finally reached the overlook, charging at full speed only to find Riku leaning against the railing, his arms crossed, face serious. I had to bend over and catch my breath, hands on my knees. I quickly looked over at a patch of thick foliage next to the overpass and then back at Riku.   
  
"Boy Riku, you've been getting stronger lately. What you been up to?" I asked him.   
  
"I train extra hard at night."   
  
"Huh... well, too bad you had to win." I stood up and walked over to him, leaning against the railing next to him, trying to play on his senses. "I really wanted that kiss." Those words were hard to choke down, but I'd never regret saying them.   
  
"Oh really, well, seeing as to how we're alone...that shouldn't be too hard to arrange." Riku leaned over me, giving me a wicked smile drenched with evil. I couldn't believe I was actually trying to entice him like this.   
  
"Well, I've never actually... ya know. I need you to close your eyes while I get psyched for it." I told him. Stupid excuse, but Riku was even dumber to fall for it.   
  
I quickly stepped back as Erik silently emerged from the forest and stepped into my place for me. "I'm ready." I said as I stepped back to enjoy the show.   
  
Erik, who was gratefully just two inches taller than me, tilted his head up and began to slowly, but passionately, kiss Riku, not resisting when Riku slowly wrapped him in his arms. But my god, Riku was enjoying himself! I suddenly found myself squirming. Get it over with already, Erik! Riku then finally took a gloved hand and ran it through Erik's short, curly blonde hair. Then it hit him. He suddenly opened his eyes and stared into Erik's deep brown ones. Riku violently jerked back, releasing Erik. Riku's face was completely blank, his jaw hanging slightly open, his lips a little red. Erik winked and blew a kiss at Riku before turning to join me.   
  
"So, how was he?" I asked him.   
  
"Oh, he was great. I think shex-zy over there has had some experience in the finer art of kissing. Girl, you have got to get me his dorm room number!" Erik told me, making me laugh.   
  
Riku was still standing there in shock. I turned to look at him. "Riku, I believe you've met cadet Erik Sandoval, my most recent acquaintance. Now Erik, how `bout that sundae you promised me?"   
  
"Let's go." He said, linking arms with me as we walked away, taking a shortcut to the starting line, where a group of now very confused spectators as well as my friends were waiting.   
  
"You might want to send a medic down there before Riku ends up in a coma from shock." I told them as Erik led me towards the cafeteria.   
  
In the back of my mind I could envision my friends rushing down to assist the still shocked Riku, asking him what had happened. Some things in life truly are priceless, and for everything else there's sweet revenge.   
  
Erik was the perfect gentlemen, holding the door open for me and paying for the huge sundae that we shared. I sat down across the table from him, laughing when I went to spoon up the last piece of brownie and Erik engaged in a brief battle with his spoon over it, trying to knock it out of my spoon as I tried to escape. We talked about nearly everything, how he was inspiring to one day to go on grand adventures, various pranks he had pulled off before... I hadn't noticed how quickly time had gone. Erik led me through the school toward the dorms, his arm still linked with mine. I sat down on the rim of a fountain, looking at the beautiful water lit by various colored garden lamps. "Erik, um... you know when you kissed Riku..."   
  
Erik sat down next to me. "Yeah?"   
  
"You're not actually... you know..."   
  
"Oh, that?" Erik looked away to laugh. "Course not!"   
  
"Oh, phew. Because, well, you looked like you were actually enjoying it and it made me assume for a moment that you were, well...yeah."   
  
"Trust me, I'm not gay. It's just that when I help someone get revenge like that, I tend to put my heart into it, ya know? Besides, getting to spend the day with you like this is like a hundred-fold reward."   
  
I looked up to see Erik's lightly tanned face turned towards mine, the shimmering light from the fountain casting moving shadows over his dark eyes. Oh no. Not again... no, no, no, no, no, no! "So, we're friends then, right?" I asked him, trying to get into a more comfortable position.   
  
"Of course. We've just met. But I wouldn't mind getting to know you better some time. So, what about Riku, is he like your boyfriend or something?" Erik asked.   
  
I could pick up a hint of...hope in his voice. Hope for what? "No, not even close. He's been my friend ever since we were just little kids."   
  
Erik seemed to relax and deeply exhaled. "Riku and I used to be much closer when we were younger, but when he got the idea into his head that we would leave the island one day... he just got sort of cold and distant, and he's been that way ever since. He never lets his emotions out anymore." I looked down at my hands and tried not to cry. What was I crying for? I hadn't lost Riku or anything... except that it felt like a part of Riku had died, and I'd never see it again, his heart warming friendship that I had known and treasured as a child... was it gone forever?  
  
Erik gently put an arm over my shoulders to comfort me. I suddenly had to take a deep breath and bit my lip, trying to hold in all of my feelings, and they began to leak out from under my tightly shut eyes. Erik then hugged me close, and I turned to bury my face in his shoulder, seeking out the same comfort Riku had once offered me in the same, loving friendly way. My sobs gently receded and Erik simply held me and rested his chin on my head, never saying anything. I looked up and could make out his face through the tears. His eyes were closed and his face was etched with compassion and concern... something it seemed that Riku could never offer me, not out here in public like Erik could... my heart felt torn... but why? I absolutely refused to every fall in love with anyone. But when Riku had hardened himself all those years ago, and had cut himself off from me and the rest of the world...   
  
Had I actually been craving what Erik was giving me now all those years? And now Riku had recently found out that he had a window through me that he could open at times, but it wasn't like the friendship that we had once shared, now it was a seemingly mocking flirtatious relationship, one without any real sincerity.   
  
"Thank you Erik. I've needed that for a long time." I softly said, now giving him a simple hug before drawing back. I was relieved when he gently released his embrace.   
  
"Hey, what are friends for, huh? You gonna be okay?" He asked me, offering an encouraging smile that was as genuine as his simple embrace.   
  
"I could use another hug." I said, happy when Erik gave me a quick, loose embrace and released me again.   
  
"So, what time is it?" He asked, looking at his watch.   
  
"I think it's about...oh gosh, who knows?" I said, looking up at the open ceiling, admiring the stars that had come out in the midnight-blue sky.   
  
"Well, it's almost time for curfew anyway. I'll take you to your dorm room." Erik said, now standing and helping me up.   
  
"Thank you."   
  
Erik seemed to be a man truly of his word, quietly guiding me toward my dorm room. I could hear Kairi and Vanna laughing about something through the door. I knew already that if I went in there now it would completely ruin the perfect mood that I was in right now. I turned to look at him, not wanting him to leave. "I wish you could come in and just, ya know, hang for a while." I said.   
  
"Sorry, Akira, but Garden rules says no boys with the girls."   
  
"Then how come Jerdania got to board with Irvine?" I asked, feeling annoyed.   
  
"Irvine? Irvine Kinneas? I doubt it! That guy has so many restraining orders on him he must look like a message board!" Erik laughed.   
  
The dorm room door opened and... Jerdania came out, nearly walking into us. "Oh, hey Akira! Who's the guy? New boyfriend?" She asked, winking at me.   
  
"Ugh.. no. This is Erik, a friend I made. What are you doing here anyway?"   
  
"One of the officials here made Irvine let me move."   
  
"Wouldn't that qualify as kicking you out?"   
  
"Well, at first it did, but Irvine refused to let me pack my stuff. He seemed pretty torn up about it, and I never got one of my T shirts back."   
  
"Ah. So Irvine's at it again already! That would make you lucky number 567,498,890." Erik sarcastically said and was rewarded by a stifled laugh from me.   
  
"Oh, come on. Irvine can't even take his mind off of me, and he's obsessed with me."   
  
"He's obsessed with something." Erik cracked.   
  
Erik was an admittedly cool guy, and I felt completely relaxed around him. What an awesome guy.... Woah! Almost went into screen saver mode that time. I quickly woke myself from my sudden reverie and walked into the dorm. "So, I guess I'll see you tomorrow, right?" I said, now standing in the doorway as Kairi and Vanna looked over my shoulders to check out the guy.   
  
"Yeah, probably at breakfast. Well, gotta go." He then shook my hand and left.   
  
Kairi, Vanna and Jerdania all stood together to oppose me after I closed the door. "Who was that?" Vanna asked, her arms folded.   
  
"Ugh... geez! Erik, the guy who thought I was a prisoner of war."   
  
"Oh, yeah, the guy who pulled off that kiss with Riku."   
  
"He's not gay! He told me so! Besides, he's a really sweet guy, and he's friends with me." I said, trying to defend... me or him?   
  
"Well, whatever. I just hope you know that Riku refused to say a single thing or do anything all day long. All he would do is train in the center. He refused to stop. He looked almost heartbroken." Kairi told me.   
  
Oh no.... 


	7. Revenge is Overrated

Disclaimer: I can't believe you actually read the disclaimer! What a nerd! Anyhow.... You should have this memorized by now....   
  
CHAPTER 7   
  
REVENGE IS OVERRATED   
  
I now sat on my bottom bunk bed and began to feel guilty. Had I really broken Riku's heart? I couldn't seem to find the truth in the thought. "I dunno guys... I mean, come on. Riku and I have almost always been rivals. He's probably just upset because for once I came out on top. Besides, revenge is supposed to be sweet." I told them, mentally flicking my shoulder angel into the trash can.   
  
The girls looked at each other, trying to apply my theory to the situation. "Yeah, you're probably right... but still..."   
  
"You know, I could never really understand Riku... why he's so... aloof. Like Squall." Kairi said, leaning back on her hands.   
  
"Hmm... Riku and Squall probably have a lot in common. Even though Squall seems to be made of rock, deep down inside, he's got a heart made of true gold that he's never been able to understand. Squall spent almost all of his life alone. Riku is probably the same way." Vanna tried to explain.   
  
"Yeah... you're right. However, my Irvy is waaaayyy better than your Squall!" Jerdania teased, bumping her shoulder into Vanna.   
  
"Wanna bet?"   
  
"Oh yeah!"   
  
A sudden knock at the door interrupted the spontaneous pillow fight that had broken out. Vanna opened the door, and Squall was confused when he saw us standing knee-deep in feathers. "Um... okay. Vanna, I need to talk to you alone for a minute." Squall said.   
  
"Alright." Squall walked in and followed Vanna into a separate part of the room, leaving me and the two girls to finish up our violent pillow war.   
  
I felt a little ticked off when another knock came at the door. I turned to answer it just as a pillow hit me in the back of the head. I threw the pillow back and opened the door. "Riku?"   
  
Riku stood in the doorway, a look of repentance on his face. "Hey... Akira... look, I need to talk to you... alone."   
  
I looked at his face for a moment. Apparently he had the intention of getting emotional, and I knew he wouldn't be able to handle himself if the girls were watching.   
  
"Okay." I stepped outside and stood in the hall with him, closing the door behind me. Riku took several steps back, readying himself.... It was like watching a computer load a program.   
  
"Look, that prank that you pulled off with Derik..."   
  
"Erik." I corrected him.   
  
"Um.. yeah... Merick... well, that is the best prank I have ever seen before, and there is no way in the world I could possibly compete with that. So, I'd like to offer a truce." He said, now holding his hand towards me.   
  
I looked around the hall, looking for a bucket of glue or flypaper hidden somewhere. "No gags?"   
  
"No gags."   
  
I reached my arm out four feet to shake his hand, and...he jerked me towards him, swung me around and pinned me against the wall, a hand on either side of my head.... God no....   
  
"Riku....I don't like that look you've got on your face..." I said, noting the sudden... seductive look they had taken.   
  
"Akira..." His face got dangerously close to mine, making me dizzy.   
  
"Riku, what do you want, an apology?" I asked him. I could feel my hands getting slick and sweaty.   
  
"I think you already know what I want." He seductively whispered, his lips half an inch from mine.   
  
Riku then thrust his face against mine, and began to kiss me with a fiery passion. Something inside of me froze, and I could feel myself going limp and my body seemed to react on its own accord. For a moment I felt like I was in a dream, but reality smacked me like a brick wall when I felt something...weird, and wet squirm into my mouth. Who was it that made that small groan of pleasure I just heard? I regained control of my arms and tried to push Riku off of me, but...   
  
I could see a door opening out of the corner of my eye and heard a Texan voice say "Say cheese, ya'll!"   
  
We both turned our eyes just in time to see a flash bulb go off. I was finally able to push Riku off. "RIKU! HOW COULD YOU?!!!" I shouted, still up against the wall.   
  
Riku looked at me and then Irvine. "Irvine! What are you doing here! You're not supposed to be in this prank!!!"   
  
Another door opened and Squall leapt out, quickly assessing the situation when he saw me about to faint, Riku's reddened lips and flushed face, and Irvine standing there with a camera, Jerdania pulling on his arm. For a moment nobody moved. Then Squall pulled out his gunblade. Irvine was the first to run, a wicked grin on his face, Jerdania on his arm. "Irvine! I said we'd watch them, not photograph them!" She angrily told him.   
  
Riku began to chase after Irvine, his face red with fury, and Squall began to run after the whole lot. I watched as Irvine slid along the floor before making a turn down the hall. "Wait till I get this baby developed!" He laughed.   
  
"IRVINE!!" his pursuers shouted.   
  
I felt no better when the girls came out to assist me. Kairi stood there for a minute, trying to figure it out. "What... happened?" She asked, noting how... hard I was breathing.   
  
"Riku...he...kissed me. He KISSED ME!!" I shouted, angrily pounding the floor with my fist.   
  
Kairi tried to imagine the scene. Riku....and Akira?! She felt confused, dizzy, she felt like crying. She was so very confused.   
  
The girls helped me into the dorm room and I flopped onto my bunk... "I feel so dizzy and... I got these jitters, it's making it hard for me to breath right..." I mumbled as I hugged one of my pillows.   
  
"Erik was right.... He really is good." I thought to myself as a smile betrayed my face.   
  
  
  
*A dark, solitary figure assessed the situation. The bug he had put into the training program hadn't worked the way it should have. He would now have to move into plan B. Now he would have to plant the bait...*   
  
("Squall's decision", changes to 3rd person perspective, last night for the group@ Balamb Garden)   
  
Squall silently stood in front of Vanna for a moment, letting himself drink in her dark eyes. "We've just received news that there's been a vicious attack on Dollet, and they're dispatching me and a team of SeeDs to handle the situation." He soberly said.   
  
"Oh... how long will you be gone?"   
  
"I don't know. The enemy was reported to be so elusive that there is a possibility that they might be using some sort of invisibility cloak." Squall continued to drink in her beauty, knowing that every time he went on a mission, there was the possibility that he might never see her again.... people beginning to talk about him in past tense. The thought was always unnerving.   
  
"Squall... are you okay?" Vanna gently asked, moving forward to take his hands.   
  
"I... have a question...." Squall stuttered as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, velvet jewelry box...   
  
*Riku began to toss in his bed... the images in his dreams unsettling him. He stood in a gray and barren land, in front of a tall, stone tower, waiting as a drawbridge slowly lowered. He walked across and walked up the long, seemingly endless stairs that wound up to the room at the top. A figure, covered with veils stood with its back to him, looking out the only window in the room. "Riku... you have at last arrived. The answers you seek can be found. Go to Transverse Town and a man named Cloud Strife will meet you there." The figure said with a feminine voice.   
  
"How...how do I know all of this is real?" Riku asked.   
  
"I will give you this scar, you are to keep it hid from all but Cloud." The figure turned toward him, its face completely obscured by thick veils. It removed the glove from his right hand and grabbed his wrist, pressing its palm hard into his. Riku suppressed a scream of pain as a hot, searing fire carved strange Japanese markings into his palm. The figure finally let go.   
  
"Hurry Riku, you're my only hope..."   
  
The dream quickly faded away and Riku woke up, hissing in pain as he tried to move his fingers. He looked up for a moment, and everything registered when he saw the fresh blood staining his pillowcase. *  
  
*The dark figure laughed to himself as he crept through the shadows of night, blending in with them perfectly. Everything was in place. He would not fail.* 


	8. Training Room Soap Opera wout the soap

Disclaimer: um.....blah blah blah blah blah....I don't own this stuff, just Akira, Jerdania, Vanna and the increasingly hard-to-find Red....(don't worry, yes, he will show up in future chapters!!!)   
  
CHAPTER 8   
  
TRAINING ROOM SOAP OPERA (W/out the soap)   
  
I walked out of the holographic training program room, finally feeling confident with my skills as an archer. Even so, I still didn't feel quite good enough. I couldn't forgive myself for missing such a great hit on that Anacondaur. I sighed and sat down on the bench by myself, watching as Riku went in with his sword, which he had dubbed Luna Luz.   
  
A loud whirring sound could be heard in the walls as the program started up. I watched as a huge Granaldo (a giant dragonfly) and three Ranaldos (armadillo-type...things.) got into formation. Riku's hand hadn't even gone to his weapon yet. I rolled my eyes at his cocky attitude. Yeah, so he knew what he was doing...but did he have to be so...flashy? The loud buzzer went off, signaling the beginning of the fight. I watched as Riku pulled out his sword so fast I never saw it happen. He instantly charged the Granaldo, leaping off the back of one of the Ranaldos to reach it. He twisted his wrist, twisting the sword around and effectively de-winging the monster. "Wow. That guy has a lot of skill, doesn't he?" Erik said.   
  
I jumped in my spot. I had been so...distracted that I never heard him approach. I twisted around to see him kneeling on the floor pulling several strange bags out of a box he had brought with him.   
  
"Yeah. He's a big show-off, though. What's in the bags?"   
  
Erik opened one of them and pulled out a 6 foot long, chrome-blue cord that was two inches thick on one end, and tapered down to one inch and split off into several foot-long strands. Out of another bag came what looked like a black, metal shotgun handle, complete with a trigger. Another bag, a large black box. Erik began to lay out the different things on the floor and started to assemble them, twisting the cord into the rifle handle, then secured it with several screws. Had he even heard me? He then gestured for me to join him. I sat down cross-legged next to him and looked as opened the black box. Inside was an impressive collection of various glowing gems. I looked at him for an explanation. "They're called Materia. Each one can be used to call up a special skill, like Fire or Graviga." He pulled a fiery red gem and a bigger black gem, letting me hold them and examine them.   
  
"Now these, however..." Erik began as he lifted the tray holding the Materia to reveal a large velvet bag, "these are Guardian Force gems. Each one can be used to call up a special creature or person to assist in battle by using its special attack. These two are my favorite: Shiva and Leviathan." He placed the two perfectly spherical stones in my hand, an aqua green one with blue swirls, and an ice blue one, both the size of baseballs, but nearly weightless.   
  
"They're beautiful." I said as he continued to pull out the Guardian Force gems and lay them on the floor in front of him. There had to be at least a dozen, if not more in his collection. "So, what do these have to do with the rest of your junk?" I asked, looking back at the rather odd contraption he had made.   
  
"Junk!? This is the finest whip model that can be bought!" Erik told me as he opened the end of the handle and pulled out five chrome tube cartridges. "I'll show you how it works. Now...let's see... what's your favorite GF stone in that pile?" Erik asked me as he opened one of the tubes.   
  
I picked up a glossy one that seemed to have a storm cloud of red floating in the indigo mist within. "I like this one." I said as I handed it to him.   
  
Erik examined the stone carefully, then scratched his head. I suddenly found myself tempted to run my fingers through the glossy, golden curls. I put my hands under my legs, fighting the urge off until it passed. "I don't know what this one is. It must be the new one Instructor Trepe told me she had found while she was rescuing those dumb cadets from Fire Canyon. Gall, all of Instructor Utay's students end up nearly getting killed or squished or stepped on or something."   
  
I cocked an eyebrow as he sifted through the bags and finally pulled out a chart loaded with various notes and diagrams. "Instructor Trepe? You mean Quistis?" I asked, looking at the color coded chart with him, pointing out the purple stone I had picked.   
  
"Yeah..." I looked up to see a broad smile and a hint of blushing on Erik's face. "Quistis is great. She's my class Instructor and personal trainer. She gave all of this to me as a gift...and for coming out in top in the school finals."   
  
I noticed for the first time what a gorgeous smile Erik had, the boy-like glimmer in his eye bringing back sudden memories of Riku in his childhood. I tried to push them aside, and bit my lip and tried to focus on what the chart said as the feel of warm sand under my feet and the innocent giggles of a little boy and girl filled my mind. Erik looked at me. "You okay?"   
  
I blankly looked at him for a moment, trying to clear my head. "Yeah, why?"   
  
"I was afraid that if you bit down any harder your lip would get completely severed from your face." He told me, a hint of humor in his voice.   
  
"Oh...yeah. It's a bad habit I have. Whenever I try to concentrate I start to chew on my lip."   
  
"Yeah. Know what you mean. Well, anyhow, shall we continue?"   
  
Erik then pointed out that the GF held the beast Renzokueken, a great purple, red-striped/spotted tiger-cheetah that used a powerful attack at its current level (level one) called Sled Fang, where it charged itself with energy and then rushed at the enemy with lightning speed and sliced through it with its flaming razor sharp claws.   
  
"Now, let's see how much common sense you got in your cute head." I blushed at his compliment. "Now, Renzokueken has an attack based on two elements. One of them is Psy, which it uses for its speed. What do you think the other one is?"   
  
"Fire?"   
  
"Exactly! Now, I need you to get the two biggest Fire Materia you can find, and two Psy Materia."   
  
I looked at the tray of various stones. Fire was obviously red, so I pulled out two red stones. Psy was trickier. There were green, cyan, clear, white... I guessed and pulled out a couple light blue ones and turned back to Erik, who had finally managed to get the GF gem to go into one of the tubes. I handed him the two red ones, which slipped into their own tubes with ease. However, Erik raised an eyebrow at me when I handed him the two clear stones I had picked out as well. "Geez, I should've told you. Look, the different elements are color coded in the stones. Now, what are the two colors in Renzokueken?" He asked me.   
  
"Purple and red."   
  
"Right! So if red is fire, then purple is..."   
  
"Psy!" I eagerly answered, absorbing his lesson with the utmost interest.   
  
Erik now looked over my shoulder as I looked through the tray of materia. I couldn't find any purple gems. Erik then chuckled as he reached an arm around my waist and gently lifted my leg, revealing two Psy gems. "Thanks." I said as he put the gems into the tubes and then loaded the handle of his whip.   
  
"So, does this weapon have a name?" I asked Erik, holding the weapon in my hand as Erik read the chart for instructions.   
  
"It's called Violetta's Thorn." Erik said as he finally found what he was looking for and quickly poured through it.   
  
Erik then took the weapon back and examined the handle, found a large red button and held it down for several seconds. The whip then began to make a soft humming sound, and the chrome cord started to glow. "Woo-hoo! I can't wait till it's my turn! It's gonna be great to try this baby out!" Erik enthusiastically said, turning the whip back off.   
  
"So, what do the Materia do? I mean, they obviously strengthen Renzokueken's elemental attack, but what do they do for the whip?"   
  
"Oh, well you see, the trigger here on the whip allows me to channel the power of the GF and the Materia directly through my whip, allowing me to super-power my attack. All I got to do to release the energy is just pull this trigger here."   
  
"So, is a special, high-tech weapon the only way to use these stones?"   
  
"Nope. The only other way is to focus your will, and mentally release the power, but I could never get the hang of it."   
  
"Ah."   
  
Erik lay the whip on the bench and I helped him put all of the empty bags back in the box, and made sure that we picked up all the gems before he closed and locked the box. At that moment the humming sound of the program stopped, and Riku walked out, re-sheathing his sword effortlessly. "How'd it go?" I asked him as he picked up a towel and wiped the sweat away from his face and neck.   
  
"Darn Ranaldos gave me a hard time, but I won in the end."   
  
"Hey, I know Akira, why don't you go in with me? You could still use some fine tuning on your crossbow." Erik said, now picking up his whip and standing in front of the door.   
  
"Hmm... Is that okay with you?" I asked, looking at Riku.   
  
"What does it matter to me? It's your weapon."   
  
I scowled at Riku's cold reply. Somewhat colder than usual. "All right then, let's go Erik." I turned and politely nodded as he held the door open for me.   
  
Once inside, Erik took a quick moment to unravel his whip and activate it. I readied myself, quickly loading an arrow. The humming reverberated under our feet as the program started up. I was shocked when I saw what our opponent was. "A T-REXAUR?" I panicked, looking over at Erik. The dinosaur could take us out in one bite!   
  
Erik smirked with confidence. "Come on, don't limit yourself! There's nothing you can't do if you push yourself to do it." He assured me.   
  
Taking his words to heart, I threw my shoulders back and got ready to take the first shot I saw. The buzzer sounded and the dinosaur charged. I found a spot under it's neck and fired. Unfortunately I hesitated and missed, watching as the arrow snapped against the hard leathery skin of the animal's shoulder.   
  
Erik used the distraction to take a shot. He brought his arm above his head and then threw it back out, sending the whip snapping out at the monster's head, the strands on the end doing great damage to the monster's eye, which now had a deep gash going through it. I then loaded another arrow and desperately searched the animal, trying to stand my ground as the dinosaur gave an ear-shattering roar that nearly deafened me. "Akira! It's neck is exposed! Now!!" Erik shouted, bringing his arm up again.   
  
I brought my bow up and fired, relieved when it pierced the loose, papery folds of skin. The dinosaur was furious, and brought its head down to look me directly in the face. I tried to move, but found myself entranced by its large, yellow eye. "Akira! It's using is Leer attack! Hang on!" Erik's voice sounded like it was a hundred miles away.   
  
I could feel the dinosaur's hot breath steaming me as it opened its mouth, preparing to deal a deadly blow. I could suddenly hear a loud crackling sound. Out of the corner of my eye I could see a great purple and red flame burst from Erik's whip as he lashed it out. Renezueken! The great beast gave a loud moaning roar as it hunched down on all fours, collecting energy. The air around it began to glow, and the animal then leapt forward, turning into a streak of colored light that erupted into flames just inches from my face as the animal tore into the dinosaur's neck.   
  
The dinosaur quickly raised itself up, fiercely growling as it tried to bring its head around to remove the beast, which was still clinging to the folds of skin, digging in with its teeth. The effect of the Leer attack broke, and I quickly moved into action, loading in arrow and firing at the dinosaur's exposed chest, hitting it successfully several times. The monster had now had enough, and whipped its head around, causing Renzokueken to fly across the room. Its fast reflexes saved it as it quickly twisted in the air and leapt off the wall, landing perfectly on the floor, where it then turned into a flash of purple energy that run back up the length of Erik's whip back into the handle.   
  
I quickly took another shot at the dinosaur's now exposed chin, and was surprised when the arrow went straight through, causing the animal to give a strangled growl as it began to choke on the arrow. It finally collapsed on the floor, and the program shut off. Erik walked over and I offered my hand for him to shake. Erik ignored it and instead hugged me tightly, lifting me off the ground and spinning me around once before setting me back down. "You did great Akira!" He said, a huge smile making me blush.   
  
For a moment I could see Riku looking in the window, watching us. He gave no sign of whether he was pleased or angry, and turned away. I looked back up at Erik. "Look's like Riku was watching." I said, waiting while Erik quickly coiled his whip.   
  
"Oh really? He ought to be proud of you. Your skill has at increased by at least six times since when you first got here." Erik told me as he finished.   
  
We walked together out of the room, trading comments and remembering the most exciting parts of the fight. Jerdania and Irvine were waiting in the room with Sora and Kairi, Jerdania happily chatting while Irvine was bent over slightly, his arms around her waist and his chin looking over his shoulder at Sora, who was animatedly describing his recent skirmish with a Grand Mantis, a giant...well, bug. He began to weave his hand through the air, bringing laughter from the group. Vanna and Squall were listening as well. I noticed how their fingers were interlaced, and I could see the glimmer of a ring on her finger.   
  
Riku, however, was sitting by himself on the bench, working on his sword with a cloth, completely absorbed in his work. For Riku to be that antisocial and miss out on one of Sora's infamous story-tellings to polish his sword...unthinkable.   
  
I walked over towards Riku as Erik quickly tossed me a water bottle before joining the others. I looked over Riku's shoulder and looked at his eyes in the perfect reflection of the sword. I could tell by the tenseness of his jaw that he was about to make a big decision. Of course. Today was the day we left for...well, we didn't know yet, but we did know that today we would be evicted from our dorms. "So Riku, you know where we're going to go now?" I asked him softly.   
  
Riku didn't answer, but instead turned the sword's handle, moving the blade gently, giving himself a better view of me. I looked directly at his face, but a stone mask had slid in place. Riku put the sword back in its scabbard and then simply sat there, staring at the floor, his hands in his lap. I slid down next to him and tried to duplicate his posture, and then was forced to sit up. Riku finally looked up at me, a somewhat....distant look in his eyes. "You like him?" he finally asked, his question catching me off guard.   
  
"Who? Erik? He's just a good friend, that's all."   
  
Riku looked away and went back to staring at the floor. "Come on Riku, it's no big deal. He's a cool guy. If you would stop with your evil ways and get to know him, I think you'd two have a lot in common." I said.   
  
"Hmm." Oh great. Riku's famous I-have-a-serious-decision-to-make-that-could-affect-us-for-the-rest-of-our-lives-and-I'm-more-concerned-about-whether-or-not-Akira-likes-someone-better-than-me Hmm.   
  
I sighed and walked away. Riku...the guy was about as easy to get along with as a piece of sandpaper with a block of wood. His rough personality just kept grating on your nerves until you either learned how to handle it or you just turned into a pile of dust and blew away. I silently chuckled to myself. I didn't know I could be so clever with metaphors before. I'd have to think of some particularly funny ones and share them with Erik. Hmm... then again, maybe Riku did have cause to be worried. I looked and watched as another one of his open grins spread on his face as Sora gave another side-splitting detail. However, I did say that I liked Erik as a friend, and I was willing to stick to that. That is, I would try. I guess.   
  
I joined the group and listened as Sora began to describe the time Riku and I had gotten into our seven day war, or, as Sora was calling it, the war of the morons. I started to laugh as Sora recalled the time where I had filled Riku's shoes with peanut butter, and how he had tried to act cool and ignore the sucking sound his feet made every time he moved.   
  
My eyes glanced over in Riku's direction as Erik casually placed an arm over my shoulder, teasing me by pushing me around. Riku was getting ready to announce his decision. I could tell by the way he was needlessly untying and re-doing his boots. Like a nervous president about to call his country to war. Riku finally stood up from the bench and was walking towards us. Sora saw the grin fall from my face and his eyes traced their way to Riku. The others quickly followed suit, including Erik who now removed his arm from my shoulder but didn't leave my side.   
  
We all silently watched him stop in front of us, one of his hands slowly running down his arm towards his glove, his fingers slowly running along the edge, about to dive underneath to his palm when Irvine grew impatient. "So, Riku, what's the plan?" He asked.   
  
Riku's hand jerked back, just as his fingers made it into his glove and had nearly touched his palm. Why was he so nervous about his stupid hand? "We're going take the Chocobos as far as we can, and then we'll walk the remaining 10 miles to Balamb, where we'll get on a train to Transverse Town." Riku stated, like a general explaining the battle plan to his troops.   
  
The troops, however, were not as loyal to the general as thought. We looked at each other, questioning his motive. "Um...why are we going to Transverse Town, exactly?" Irvine asked, slightly raising his hand.   
  
Riku sighed, as if he had hoped he wouldn't have to explain himself. "I picked up a tip that there is a man who lives there who can help me...and us out." Riku somewhat faltered.   
  
Riku really never had explained his whole reason for dragging us off the island, rather than just the fact that we needed to see the world if we ever wanted to understand things. "The truth is out there." He had coined. Sounded corny, like something from some sci-fi TV sitcom. Thankfully, after a while he had finally dropped the stupid saying. He had had the adults thinking he was on some inland drug or had finally gone off the deep end.   
  
Irvine opened his mouth to ask another question, but Jerdania could thankfully read Riku's voice better than he could and gently put a hand over his to stop him. "Well, I suggest we pack and meet back here by 1:00. We can't afford to miss the 4:45 train. Transverse Town can get dangerous at night if you don't know your way around." Squall said.   
  
Riku nodded and looked at a clock on the wall. "It's only 10:00. You guys can take a little time to do whatever you want, but I'll leave any stragglers behind. I don't feel like herding sheep."   
  
I cocked my eyebrow. Something was definitely wrong with Riku. He was never critical of our group, and always knew that we would follow through with--- I followed his eyes to were they rest on Irvine, who was only paying half attention and was now trying to get the rubber band out of Jerdania's hair without her noticing. I rolled my eyes and poked an elbow into Jerdania's side. She turned her head to look at me, and Irvine lost her braid as it went over her shoulder. I looked back at Riku, who gave me a nod and a secret smile. I winked back and turned to walk away.   
  
We all scattered, Jerdania (who had pre-packed...hey, since when was she so responsible?) was heading off to Irvine's room to help him pack. Or so Irvine had told the hall monitor who had caught Irvine trying to sneak her in.   
  
Squall had announced that he would be going with us to Balamb, but he would instead be taking a train that would take him to another city where the SeeDs he would be commanding would be meeting.   
  
Vanna had decided to join us as far as Transverse Town, as she knew the whole place pretty well from all of her missions to the mall.   
  
Riku had gone off without a word, Kairi was going to go take one last hike to the overlook where...well...you know what happened.   
  
That left just me and Erik. He walked toward my dorm room with me, suspecting that since the hall monitors would be on break at that time, he would be able to quickly shuffle in and back out with my stuff. Then he would try to get me over to his dorm, which would be way too easy, since the hall monitor in his part of the school didn't care one way or another.   
  
As we approached the door, Erik began to crane his neck, keeping an eye out for "Mrs. Bulldog" as he called her, a short, fat woman who always loved to go the extra mile to see that he was caught doing something wrong. I fumbled with the keys and unlocked the door, quickly shoving him in first, and then running in after him.   
  
I walked over to the drawers where I had my stuff and began to pull things out and shoved them into my backpack. Erik opened the top drawer and quickly shut it again, his face turning beet red. "What's wrong?" I asked him as he slowly opened the drawer below it, peeking in before finally pulling it out all the way.   
  
"I...uh...heh heh." Erik nervously said, quickly shoving a shirt into my bag.   
  
I stood up and opened the drawer he had gotten so nervous about. I then cracked up. "You got into my underwear drawer!" I laughed, falling on the floor, not aware of when I had ended up rolling over so my head lay in his lap.   
  
"I am really sorry, I didn't know, I mean, I wouldn't ever-" Erik nervously stuttered, helping me back up.   
  
"Oh, geez! Erik I know you didn't mean to! Are you afraid that now I'll have to throw you out the window because you saw that I have a pair of flowery panties?" I asked him, cracking up again.   
  
Erik saw the humor in the situation and began to chuckle, but still looked embarrassed. "I didn't see any flowers, but I think I saw one pair that were as red as my face turned when I slammed the drawer shut." Erik teased me, making both of us go crazy with laughter.   
  
When we finally stopped, I grabbed my sides as they started to ache. "Man... this is crazy. All of it." Erik said as he grabbed several shirts out of another drawer and helped me shove them into my backpack with everything else.   
  
"No kidding." I said as I stood up and headed to the bathroom.   
  
Erik was now sitting on the bunk where I slept, looking at his shoes as I carried out a bag of toiletries and crammed them into the backpack, hesitating for a moment when I thought I heard the sides of my backpack explode from tension. I looked up and saw that Erik was now laying on his back, his arms under his head. He had removed his jacket and it was now laying on the floor. I took one moment...just to...you know...look. I had never noticed before how finely built his arms were, from use of the whip, no doubt. Erik nearly caught me staring and now sat up on the edge of the bed. "You done?" He asked, picking up his jacket.   
  
"Yeah." I picked up the pack and slung it over my back, shifting it around until I was comfortable, but then was surprised when Erik took it from me and easily slung it over his shoulder. "Um...thank you?" I asked. Oooh... biceps.   
  
I slowly opened the door and peeked out. The hall monitor was still gone. I nodded to Erik and quickly stepped out into the hall and began to run, Erik close behind me. We barely made it, the hall monitor turning the corner just as we rushed by. "Hey, you two! Slow down!" The cranky woman shouted at us in a whiny voice.   
  
"We're gonna be late!" I shouted as we picked up the speed.   
  
We finally did stop as we came out of the dorm hall. Erik was laughing as he slowed to a walk. "I can't believe we fooled Mrs. Bulldog!" He said, jumping in front of me and now walking backwards.   
  
"That was Mrs. Bulldog!?" I said, stopping in my tracks.   
  
"Yeah! And we made it! Come on! Let's hurry to my dorm! I wanna show you all of my posters!" Erik said, now pulling me along.   
  
We raced down along several halls before we entered a corridor that looked exactly like the one were my old room was at, except now the carpet was a bit darker, and the occasional guy stepped out of his room or walked down the hall, and in a couple rare cases they were pulling girls along with them. As Erik led me along we were suddenly stopped by a pair of tall, popular-looking teen boys both at least 3 years older than us, each one with a girl or two in their arms. "Don't say anything. Just stay as close to me as you can. Everyone in this hall...well, just stay close. We're almost to the corner." Erik whispered in my ear.   
  
"So Erik, finally decided to join the club and have a little fun, eh?" One of them said. I quickly spied the case of beer he was carrying as Erik pulled me closer.   
  
"No, Brent. I'm just getting some things." Erik firmly said, his grip tightening on my hand.   
  
I quickly tightened mine as well, trying to silently encourage him. I kept my eyes on the girls, wishing I could stop them. "Oh, come on now Erik! The best way to enjoy yourself here is the join the party! And you've already got a girl." The other one said, the blonde in his arm giggling stupidly.   
  
"For the last time, no. I'm not joining one of your dumb parties, getting drunk and `hanging out' with girls I've never met in my entire life. In fact, I don't even think they're from this school. Now, if you'll let me pass, I am taking this girl to my room, getting my things and leaving." Erik asserted, his jaw tight with tension.   
  
"Too bad. The fun is just starting. It's not too late. You can join anytime. Just bring the broad with you." The one called Brent said. I could feel the guy's eyes on me.   
  
A door opened, and the scent of smoke and loud, pounding music mixed with voices escaped while the two guys and the girls with them entered. Erik let out a loud, angry growl after the door closed, and now pulled me with a firm determination toward his room. "Those guys will get it one day. The nerve of them! I should've popped his jaw clean off when he called you that. I could've fought `em both off." He said, his grip getting uncomfortable.   
  
"Erik...you did the right thing, standing up for your self like that, sticking to your personal standards. And for protecting me." I softly said, relieved that Erik had finally found his dorm room and was unlocking the door.   
  
Erik sighed and relaxed. "I've had to put up with this every other day the whole time I've been here." He said as he opened the door and quickly walked in after me.   
  
The dorm was very different from the one I had stayed in. There was one communal living room, and three doors in the opposite wall were evidently the rooms. There was no sign of a shower however, but there was a small bathroom that had various things lying around in there. Erik walked over to one of the doors and opened it, gesturing for me to look. The whole room was covered with posters of Gunblades, Balamb Garden, charts showing various models of different weapons. Erik took the time to point out everything about each one, and even pulled out several cardboard tubes from under his bed and pulled out his newest posters, including a chart of all the available whips made by his absolute fave company, and in the center was the model he currently owned. I nodded and tried to absorb everything he was telling me. I then sat down on his bed and waited while he rummaged through his closet and pulled out his own pre-packed backpack, plus another poster tube. "Um...here. I want you to have this. I had to special order, but dang! They sure do deliver fast." Erik said, handing it to me.   
  
I opened the tube and pulled out a poster that had a scene from... I put a hand up to my mouth, placing my fingers gently over my lips. "That's the very spot me and the gang used to watch the sunset every evening." I softly murmured, soaking the picture in.   
  
"Do you like it?" Erik asked, standing behind me.   
  
I turned to face him. "Love it." I said, hugging him.   
  
"I'm happy that you do. Check this out." He said, flipping it over. On the other side was a map of the entire world. "It might come in use one day, you know. See? There's your Destiny Islands right there. I've always wanted to go and just hang out there one day. It sounds like a great place." Erik said, his finger pointing to a small group of specks surrounded by ocean and far larger land masses.   
  
I silently nodded as I rolled the poster up and put it back into its tube. Erik had no idea how much the simple poster really meant. It was a precious treasure given out of pure...pure...friendship? Or something more, like love? I felt unusually peaceful as Erik handed me back my backpack and we left the dorm. I was surprised when...of all people, we ran into Riku as we had just left the dorm hall. "Riku? What're you doing here?" Erik asked, quickly letting go of my hand.   
  
"My dorm is down this way." Riku simply said, still standing in front of us.   
  
"Oh, I never saw you down here before. Anyway, we were just heading over---"   
  
"I don't care. Really. I got to call to get our tickets, and then I need to make sure that we can properly ration everything. I don't have time to hear all the details." Riku said, now getting ready to leave.   
  
"Oh, sorry to stop you then. I'll let you go now."   
  
Riku was already heading off before Erik got done. I quickly reached out and grabbed his arm, making him stop. Riku turned to look at me. Now he was listening. "Riku. It's fine." I said, looking him in the eye, making sure he understood.   
  
Riku gave a slight nod and then continued down the hall. Erik looked at me for a moment before heading off. "What was that all about?" he asked. Why did he have to ask that, of all questions? It would take a million years to explain. "Are you two, like..."   
  
"No. We're not dating or anything like that. It's just that Riku considers himself to be my older brother, and he...well, he just gets jealous really easy when I'm not talking to him 24/7." I quickly said, now wondering where Erik was taking me.   
  
I noticed how Erik hadn't even so much as stood close to me since Riku had given him that...evil look. Erik was a little shaken up. "Boy...Riku sure does take it personally. I was afraid he'd cast a spell on me or something there for a moment."   
  
"Everyone says that the first time Riku sees them with me. Well, if they're a guy he does. He could care less about anything else."   
  
"Ah. Now I get it." I looked up to see what Erik was looking at.   
  
My group had all gotten together at the same fountain where Erik had held me while I cried. They were all being goofy and posing while someone was taking pictures of them. I tried to see it from Erik's perspective. Kairi with her head on Sora's shoulder while he had his arms wrapped around her, Irvine grinning as he gave Jerdania a quick squeeze as she sat on his lap (...for the photo, right? Work with me people!).   
  
Kairi began to giggle as Sora whispered something into her ear. The person with the camera encouraged them to get closer, then snapped another photo. The group then posed differently, now Jerdania was being effortlessly lifted onto Irvine's shoulders while Kairi laid out and rested her head in Sora's lap, while he took what looked like a bunch of grapes and was holding them over her head. I still didn't get it. No, I mean the way they were acting. Wait, I mean what Erik saw....oh forget it. I'm still confused. "I don't think I'm getting your point here." I said, looking at Erik.   
  
"Well, Riku must feel left out. Irv's with Jerdania, Kairi is Sora's main squeeze, which leaves, or rather just left, you and him. So now Riku wants to have fun with the other guys, so he's wantin' to hook up with you. But now he thinks I'm going to pull some sort of stunt and steal you, and that'll leave him out of the picture indefinitely."   
  
"Oooh. That makes perfect sense." I said. Hey, it did! And it still does!! Erik and I continued to watch the nonsense for a moment.   
  
"I got an idea. Just for the fun of it, let's go join `em! We can pretend we're in love, and act stupid like them!" Erik suddenly said, making me stare at him.   
  
I put my hand up and felt his forehead. It was a little warm. "Uh...are you feeling okay?" I asked him.   
  
"Come on! We can have a couple laughs while we're still here. Besides, it's not like Riku's gonna suddenly come bursting out after us and strangle us to death." Erik said, tugging on my hand.   
  
"Augh! First of all, he'd only kill you, he'd have me live on a leash. Secondly, I don't look all...cute and `in love' like they do. I wouldn't know how to fake it."   
  
"It's easy. All you gotta do is...well, whatever you want with me. It's gotta be fun! Besides, I've never gotten love-drunk and then got photos with other couples before. It looks really, really, really, really fun!" Erik was definitely the kind of guy to look for a genuinely good time. I'd remember to invite him the next time I came across an amusement park like Elich Gardens.   
  
Sighing, I looked at the two couples at the fountain. It did look like tons of fun...plus, I felt relaxed around Erik. "This is going to be so weird." I said, finally letting Erik lead me over.   
  
Sora and Kairi looked up and smiled at us. "Hey you guys, you two at it as well?" Sora asked, and what would have been a knowing had he really known bounced right off of me.   
  
"Just looking for the place to have to most fun." Erik said, saving me as he tightly squeezed my hand.   
  
"Come on you two! Join us!" Jerdania said, tilting her head back so she could look at Irvine.   
  
Erik pulled me over between the two, and now had me sit next to him. He laid out on one side, propping himself up with an arm. I sat down in front of him, and he didn't seem to mind when I decided to relax and lean his body. "Get ready!" The camera girl said, a guy now standing behind her, evidently her boyfriend. Darn! Everyone was in on the whole dating thing! How come I'd never noticed it before... I couldn't help but give a big, pretty smile when Erik quickly pulled me a little closer and put his face against mine, just before the camera bulb flashed.   
  
"Great pic! Come on, all of you need to really loosen up!" The photographer's main squeeze shouted at us.   
  
"No he doesn't!" Jerdania shouted, now realizing Irvine wasn't letting her get up, and was his hold was now tightening.   
  
I suddenly laughed. So this...this is what it felt like. I got up so Erik could lay out on his stomach, and I went ahead and leaned on top of him...still holding back, not wanting this to actually end up anywhere, especially in my face. "Oh, come on you two. Let me help you out here." Kairi said, walking towards me.   
  
She had Erik sit up on the edge, and had me sit behind him and then had me rest my head on his shoulder as she took my legs and placed them over Erik's. Kairi giggled and now took my arms and had me put them under Erik's, then had him take my wrists and wrapped my arms around his waist. Oh god... I was going to die, either of humiliation, from Riku's sword or from a heart attack from my heart now suddenly working so hard. "Erik, I hope you're having fun." I said, fakely smiling as the camera flashed.   
  
I scooted back, trying to escape, only to have Erik lean back against me, his head now resting on my chest. He rolled his deep brown eyes up to look at me, a big grin on his face. "Just get loose and have fun!" He said, reminding me that my legs were still on top of his.   
  
What was "loose" supposed to mean? I sighed and leaned over him, now looking directly into his face, even though it was now upside down. Why even bother getting revenge on this? I'd have photos...to do with whatever I pleased. I made a mental note to get a book on practical Voodoo while in Transverse Town.   
  
I smiled down at him, noticing just how dangerous this was getting. "Erik...are you actually, uh...this can't be serious." I said, seeing that same...happy-in-la-la-love-land look in his eyes that I had seen with Riku... who the heck let the pheromones out?!   
  
I had no time to think when Erik smooched me as the camera went off... It had to be true. Having your photo taken really could steal your soul. Heck, Erik had to have lost his. I quickly swatted him with my hand for it. He understood what I had meant, however the others must have thought I was merely teasing him.   
  
The last photo was taken, and now Erik finally let me up, much to my nearly forgotten relief, which now came back like a tidal wave. "Thank god that's over." I said as Erik draped his jacket over me.  
  
"You can cut it out already. Once was enough." I said.   
  
"I don't want to now. That was too much fun. Hey, Irv! Make sure you get extra copies of those, all right?" Erik shouted.   
  
Irvine looked back from where he was leading Jerdania away, waving and nodding. Sheesh... what a moony guy. Ick. "Erik, is it like, love is some sort of dangerous, deadly and highly contagious disease that everyone has unknowingly contracted except for me, and that means I'm the only sane person left in the world?" I asked, trying to shake him off of me.   
  
"Hmm... yeah, I think so." He said, now suddenly straightening up.   
  
"So, is the normal, healthy Erik back yet, or do I have to quarantine you and the rest of the population?"   
  
"Nah. I think it was just....I dunno. Did you feel it too?" He asked me, now suddenly stopping in front of me.   
  
"Feel what?"   
  
"The sudden feverish feeling, followed immediately by chills every time you think about what you're doing, and then a sudden loss of reality." Woah.   
  
"Actually..." I trailed off, thinking of the exact moment when Erik had leaned back, and his beautiful, perfect eyes had looked at mine, eyes lost...the loss of reality. I had seen it. "Maybe we should go to the infirmary and get some pills for this or something." I said.   
  
Erik laughed. "You've never been in love before, have you?" He asked me.   
  
"Nope. And I'm not in love right now either." I said. Hey, remember? I'm the Snow Queen. Untouchable. Powerful. Occasionally weak-kneed.   
  
"Geez. One day Akira, you're going to finally realize that you can't hide from your feelings forever." He told me.   
  
I silently followed him toward the training center where we would meet up with the others. A million questions buzzed in my heads like a swarm of mosquitos or Bite Bugs, draining me of my sanity. I subconsciously lifted a hand and swatted my head.   
  
We reached the entrance to the center, but Erik stopped and looked at me."Hey, um...Akira?" he said, his voice sober.   
  
"Hmm?"   
  
"Look, I'm...I'm sorry...if what I did back there, well... made you feel uncomfortable or anything...I won't do it again to you." He said, staring at his shoes.   
  
Well, if you counted weightlessness and having your stomach parachute into oblivion counted as being uncomfortable, yes, he did owe me an apology. "It's...thanks. Let's go in already. Friends?" I offered him a hand, relieved when he looked up and smiled.   
  
"Yeah. Friends." We walked in and joined the others who had already gathered. 


	9. Train to Transverse Town

Disclaimer: I don't own Squaresoft. I "own" (but am willing to share) Jerdania, Red, Akirame and Vanna. I don't own a Ferrari. I own a PS2.   
  
CHAPTER 9   
  
TRAIN TO TRANSVERSE TOWN   
  
We (including Red) all assembled in front of Riku when he finally entered the center, his duffel bag over his shoulder. "I got everything planned out. Does anyone have anything to say before we head out?" He simply stated.   
  
We looked at each other and then at him. "Good." He said when everyone remained silent. "Now, I have a special buddy-system I want us to follow through the rest of our mission. I decided to assign each one of you a partner that you will remain by faithfully until the end of the week, when we'll rotate. The matches are decided according to strengths and weaknesses. Don't argue with the match, just put up with it. You are never to leave your partner. Now, let's see..." Riku paused as he pulled a slip of paper out of his pocket and unfolded it. "Okay, here we go... Kairi, you're going to be with... Jerdania." Irvine's jaw dropped in protest, but he just folded his arms and stuck out his chin as Jerdania shrugged and joined Kairi.   
  
"Right, Irvine, you'll be with Sora." Sora was good friends with Irvine, so thankfully the two were compatible. "Erik, you're with Red, so that leaves me just me and Akira." Riku made eye contact with me, and I raised an eyebrow. What....ever.   
  
We all joined our new buddies and followed Riku out of the door, Squall and Vanna coming along. The walk out of the school and toward the grassy plain was full of goodbyes from the SeeDs and chatter between us. I began to notice that Jerdania's long-absent clumsiness and buddy-buddyness was starting to show, mostly by how she was a little too cheerful while talking to Kairi, her eyes mostly on Irvine, and how she occasionally tripped over her words.   
  
"So..." I began, looking at the silent Riku who walked aside me. "I get paired up with...a concrete block?" I said.   
  
Riku looked at me, not understanding. "What...you mean...the prank?" He slowly asked, thinking about the...kiss... ick. Double ick. I lightly blushed, but managed to recover. "No... not really." I looked away. Things were still somewhat tense between us in that area.   
  
I didn't attempt to talk to him again as we paused in the middle of the field, waiting while Irvine made a loud whistle and the Chocobos came running towards us. I felt a little awkward, pulling myself into the saddle and forced to hang onto Riku to stay on. Riku steered the Chocobo slowly around and looked out along the length of the beach. This would apparently be a long ride. "Squall, how far did you say we could go?" Riku asked as Vanna and Squall pulled up along us on their Chocobo.   
  
"The Chocobos can take us the first 50 miles. As long as we keep the field on one side and the coast on the other while we're riding, we shouldn't run into any trouble whatsoever." Squall replied.   
  
"All right then. Everyone, try and stay in two lines. Squall, lead the way." Riku said, waiting for everyone to attempt the formation and mostly succeeding, except for Jerdania, who was having a little trouble getting her Chocobo to stop picking at the sand.   
  
Squall moved ahead of us and spurned the bird with his heels, moving it into a full gallop. Riku and the others quickly followed suit, bringing their birds into full speed. The feel of the bird's strange gait and the wind blowing my hair crazily in the wind felt strangely new to me, but the lack of humor from Riku was driving me nuts. Neither of us had really gotten over the brief battle we had had, and we never tried to talk it out. I leaned back in the saddle, trying to get comfortable and avoid full-body contact with the source of my aggravation. I looked over at Erik and Red, who now pulled closer to us on our side. "Hey!" I shouted, pleased when Erik smiled back and Red gave a little wave.   
  
"Now, see Riku? Why can't you loosen up and have fun like them?" I said over Riku's shoulder.   
  
However, Riku didn't respond, making me tense. I felt like...just hitting him, to do anything to get him to drop the mask he kept hiding behind. At least I never had a hard time telling people how I felt.   
  
The rest of the ride wasn't as fun as I wished it would have been, and my legs began to feel sore. Squall slowed down and stopped, the rest of us following suit. It looked like the last ten miles would be unbearable. We had stopped in front of a long field dotted with sunflowers, with no way of being able to really tell were we were at, since the grass just kept getting taller, at least 6 or 7 feet in some places. "Great. So, how are we supposed to get through this?" I asked.   
  
"Well, Squall knows this place pretty well. We shouldn't have a hard time as long as we stick together, preferably in single file." Riku said as he jumped off of the Chocobo and helped me off. At least he was a gentlemen.   
  
"There are some monsters that like to hunt in this field, and the field goes for about five miles, so you all ought to gear up first." Squall said, waiting while we pulled our gear out of our packs and strapped up.   
  
I felt strangely confident and safe as I slung my crossbow over my shoulder. Erik would have trouble fighting out here, since he had a whip, and there was no clearance out here. That's why he was apparently matched with Red, who now chose to remain human, but could easily change into a dragon and kick butt. So Riku really did have logic.   
  
Squall then proceeded into the field, which now started out at a measly three feet tall, but gradually grew to where it was just below our chins. I felt a little uneasy, trying to stand on my toes and see where I was at. We tried to keep up with Squall's hurried pace, occasionally having to break into a jog. Jerdania and Kairi seemed to lag a little behind, Jerdania having problems stumbling over hidden rocks. I sighed and looked forward at Riku's back as I heard another "Ow!" from behind. She would be the death of us. Apparently she couldn't handle herself without her "Irvy".   
  
Hmph. I could take care of myself if I had to. Well, if I wanted to, anyway. Suddenly Squall heard something and held up a hand, making us stop. Jerdania, now at the very end of the line, but trying to pass up Kairi for Irvine didn't see the signal...I turned back to watch her trip over something and watched her head disappear into the grass, Irvine and Kairi quickly following suit. After that the heads kept disappearing until Erik suddenly lost his balance as he was slammed into by Red, and fell on top of me, knocking me over onto Vanna. I looked up at Squall and Riku, who now were both shaking their heads and looking at the mess of tangled bodies. "We're all going to die out here." Squall said.   
  
Riku sighed and nodded in agreement. "Well, now every single little monster should have been scared away, but I don't know about the bigger ones..." he trailed off, gripping the hilt of the Luna Luz.   
  
Everyone struggled to get up, then turned to look at Jerdania, who was staring at the ground and blushing. Irvine, however, stood next to her in her defense. "Hey ya'll, it ain't her fault! Any one of you could've easily tripped over something out here!" he said, trying to comfort her.   
  
We all sighed and turned back to look at Squall. "Let's get going. Jerdania, Kairi, you two move up with Irvine and Sora."   
  
We then started off again, Riku now a little more tense, but I could see that he was trying his hardest to suppress a volley of laughter and his shoulders were shaking. The shaking subsided and I allowed myself to drift back slightly to were I was with Erik, but could see Riku without any trouble. "You've got some stuff in your hair." Erik said, pulling a piece of straw out.   
  
"Hmm. Thanks." I said, enjoying his company, but constantly reminding myself to keep myself in check.   
  
Suddenly the sound of something moving through the field from somewhere else unnerved me, causing me to stop. "Riku, hang on a minute." I said, running up to his side.   
  
Squall and Riku both stopped and the party halted. "Shhh... I heard something." I said, lowering my head and listening.   
  
I heard it again. The sound of scales against grass and dry soil reached my ears again, and now the others heard it as well. Squall and Riku both readying themselves, their hands both placed on their weapons, ready to fight. The sound stopped, not giving us any comfort. Suddenly there was a loud, high pitched shrieking sound, like a vulture. "Guys, LET'S GO!" Squall shouted at us, now turning and running through the field, all of us trying our hardest to keep the person in front of us in view.   
  
The shriek rose again from the field, and the rushing sound was getting louder and faster. I tried to run even faster, and could see strange, green and red sails slicing through the plain like shark fins. The fins were moving ahead of us. "Riku! It's going to try and cut us off!" I shouted.   
  
Riku nodded and readied himself, pulling out his sword. The fins disappeared in front of Squall. Suddenly a huge cobra-like creature rose out of the grass, opening its mouth and releasing another shriek. "It's an Anacondaur!" Squall shouted, raising his gunblade.   
  
I stood next to Riku and loaded my crossbow with an arrow and tried to find a weak spot. "Riku, I don't think it has a weakness." I shakily said, my eyes straining to see a chink in the chain mail coat of scales that protected the monster.   
  
"Right there! Wait for it to open its mouth, then try to hit the roof of its mouth!" Riku told me, preparing to rush forward.   
  
I nodded and prepared, trying to keep the snake's weaving head in view. Riku rushed forward with unbelievable speed with Squall to make an aggressive attack. I stayed in my spot, muttering under my breath as the snake began to make more erratic movements, whipping its entire body around to cut Squall off from Riku, who managed to avoid being crushed by another slithering coil by leaping over it. The snake opened its mouth to strike, and I quickly aimed and pulled the trigger, watching as the arrow flew up and missed as the monster whipped its head around to oppose Riku.   
  
The snake looked toward me and began to slither towards me. I began to shake as I fumbled with an arrow. The snake brought its tail around from the side like a whip and knocked my crossbow to the ground. It opened its mouth and I could see a strange black shimmering liquid build up in its mouth as it began to make strange gurgling sounds. A drop of the liquid dribbled down its jaw and landed on a rock next to me, making a loud hissing sound as it began to eat away at the stone. "Riku! It knows how to spit acid!" I shouted, backing away and looking for somewhere to hide.   
  
Riku suddenly leapt up out of the grass and slashed at the snake's neck with his sword, his eyes glowing with an aqua fire as he sliced the snake's head from its neck with unnatural strength, gracefully beheading the animal. The snake's body continued to squirm uncontrollably in death spasms in the grass, and I barely managed to avoid the whip-like tail as I retrieved my crossbow.   
  
"We'd better get out of here! The other monsters will be here any moment." Squall shouted, waiting for us to regroup before breaking into a full run.   
  
We didn't even look back or slow down, fearing the sounds of unknown scavengers now descending upon the body of the dead Anacondaur. The sounds put fear into my heart. I realized that I was now in the outside world, far away from my island home, and now in the home of blood thirsty animals that would make short work of me. I looked up at Riku, whose face showed no sign of panic, but determination, small beads of sweat now forming on his forehead, his breathing steady. If it weren't for him, I would be completely defenseless. The same person whose come-ons I tried to desperately avoid. The world was based on pure irony.   
  
The field began to ebb away, and we found ourselves on top of a hill, overlooking the short distance to Balamb, a somewhat small looking city with an ocean port and a train station. I let out a deep sigh of relief. We were finally on the home stretch. I took another look at Riku. His eyes had stopped glowing, and now seemed to slightly illuminated with the embers of the fire I had seen earlier. "How..." I began as we began to walk downhill towards the city.   
  
"I don't know." Riku said, still looking ahead.   
  
I bit my lip as I tried to put the matter aside. Riku seemed to have sobered tremendously. There was something pressing on him, I could see it by the way he seemed to be overly focused on what was ahead of him. Hmmm....   
  
Balamb proved to be a semi-quiet town, and the train station was fairly busy, but no real hustle and bustle. Riku approached the ticket booth while the rest of us waited. Riku got a nod from the woman sitting inside and he led us up a set of stairs up into the train station, where two large, blue trains were loading. Squall shouldered a small pack he carried and said something to Vanna under the loud sounds of the train's hydraulics, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek before loading onto one of the trains. Riku waited and then led us onto a different train parallel to it.   
  
The room we entered was completely empty except for a door in one side. Kairi walked over and tried to open it. "You need the ticket to open it." Vanna said.   
  
Kairi took the tickets from Riku and fumbled with them, and was rewarded with a small click and the door opened for her. "All right!" She said, running in.   
  
I shrugged and followed her into a hallway lined on one side by windows. "Hmm... I wonder if they have a room where we can just sit or something." I said, following her down the hall.   
  
We entered the next car and I got my wish: a room with tables and comfortable chairs with plenty of windows and light. I eagerly sat down in a chair and looked out the window, waiting for the train to start moving. The car jolted, and a loud hissing sound from outside signaled the train's departure. Kairi happily began to read a magazine and I was content just watching the city of Balamb move away. We were quickly joined by the others, who now decided to rebel against the partner rule Riku had established and now went off their own ways.   
  
A cheesy "ding" sound came over a hidden intercom and a man's voice arguing with some one in the back ground caught our attention. We strained our ears but could only make out "no...wait a minute...this isn't tea!!!....what do you mean? this isn't coffee either!! Well, where did you find it? WHAT!?...oh...what do you mean the intercom light is on? I didn't turn it on.... Oh..."   
  
Everyone in the car began to laugh. The man on the intercom cleared his throat. "Right...um...we will be arriving in...Timber...no, wait, I mean Transverse Town in...3 hours. As Transverse Town is on another continent, we will be using the underwater passageway, where we may experience a brief black out due to the ocean's currents. When we use the tunnel we request that you remain in your seat and do not attempt to go anywhere, as you may just as well end up falling off the roof of the train. We will notify you when we approach the tunnel in...an hour. Thank you." The man on the intercom had apparently decided to resume his conversation with the person in the background. "....Lori...has anyone told you how pretty your eyes are..." girlish laughter. "...you know...we do have an entire hour to ourselves..." Everyone began laughing, but tried to hold their breaths so they could hear more. "....Have I introduced you to my stuffed moogle, Mr. Bob?" The room was filled with laughter.   
  
We could hear the sound of a door opening over the intercom. "...oh, I'm sorry if I'm interrupting, sir." A new, higher male voice said. "...what is it?....Sir, the expected black out in the tunnel is going to be longer than we thought..." the younger man paused, and then whispered something. "...What?...I left the intercom on again? What... let me see...oh....oops...ummm....okay, hang on." I couldn't stop laughing, and desperately tried to catch my breath as the conductor tried to gain his dignity.   
  
"Um...passengers, we would like to inform you that we are only ten minutes from the tunnel. Due to weather, the black out in the train will last at least ten minutes. We will keep you updated...." His voice faded. "...this time I'll make sure its off..." The intercom finally turned off.   
  
I couldn't stop laughing, and looked to see that Riku was getting up and was heading back toward the other car. I looked at the others and decided to follow him when no one was looking. Riku had stopped in front of a door in the hallway and entered in, closing the door quietly behind him. I paused in front of the door, trying to resist the temptation to look into the small window at the top of the door. At last I gently knocked, and was rewarded by Riku's muffled voice.   
  
I opened the door and saw that the room was simple, just a two booth-like couches and a bunk bed. Riku was sitting on one of the couches, staring at the floor as he absently ran the fingers over the palm of his right hand.   
  
"Riku...are you okay?" I asked, sitting on the other couch across from him after closing the door behind me.   
  
"I...hmm..." He trailed off.   
  
"You've been acting really...weird lately. What is it that's been bothering you?"   
  
"......" I hated it when Riku answered me like that.   
  
"Riku..."   
  
Riku finally looked up at me, the trance-like look in his eyes finally breaking. "I've...been having this...voice in my mind...telling me what to do..." God no. Riku was a psycho, and now he was going to take his sword and start killing people.   
  
I stood up and carefully edged toward the door, ready to make an escape. "No, not like that!" Riku said, shaking his head. "It's not like some weird voice telling me to kill people...its just...I had this dream a couple nights ago...after, well, you know. The prank." Riku said. Wow. Riku had nearly spoken two whole complete sentences. What an improvement.   
  
"Dream?" I asked, sitting back down again. "You wanna tell me about it?"   
  
Riku sighed and leaned forward. "Well...It's really weird."   
  
"Riku, I doubt anything you tell me could be any weirder than you forcing a kiss on me." I said.   
  
"Yeah...I guess so." I was pleased when I got that smirk on his face. "Well...all I can remember is that I was standing outside in this strange place..." Riku trailed off as he closed his eyes, re-experiencing it.   
  
"There's this tower, and I walk in, and at the top there's this...I think it was a woman, but I couldn't see her face, and she told me where to go...and she gave me this scar on my hand." Riku began to trace his palm with his fingers again, then opened his eyes. "I don't know why...but she told me something about `you're my only hope.' And that `he' was coming." Riku shook his head.   
  
"This is crazy. I can't believe I'm actually following her directions. And now...sometimes, I don't know how but...I can hear her voice or feel feelings in me that aren't my own."   
  
I looked at Riku, completely serious about what he was telling me. "What kind of things...does she tell you?" I asked, trying to understand exactly what mental illness Riku had contracted.   
  
"Oh...she warns me when something's about to happen, she keeps telling me to hurry, that `he' is coming..." Riku trailed off again.   
  
I waited, knowing that there was something more by the way he now looked at the floor and shifted in his spot. I patiently waited. "One time...I tried to talk back to her, you know, mentally...she actually answered me, just talking...it didn't last long. She went back to `he' is coming..." Riku was finished, and now looked sheepish. "Do you think I'm crazy?" He asked me.   
  
Yes Riku, I think you're absolutely out of your mind. Now, where did I put that straight jacket... "No. I don't think you're nuts. A little weird, but you've always been that way." I said.   
  
Riku looked relieved, and gave me a small smirk. The idiot on the intercom came on again. "Attention...we are now about to enter the tunnel. In about ten more minutes we will be entering a `black out zone', so we suggest that you go to your rooms or elsewhere and remain there. We will be powering up our back-up generator to turn on the lights and heat. That is all...." The man managed to make his fist successful intercom announcement and remembered to turn it off when he was done.   
  
Riku and I now were both staring at the floor. "Hey...um...Akira..." Riku said, shifting his gaze away from me.   
  
"Yeah?"   
  
"Um...about the pranks...look...I'm sorry...about what I did to you...that I embarrassed you..."   
  
"Oh, Riku. It's alright. I didn't enjoy the fact that you actually did that to me but, I forgive you."   
  
"Thanks..." Riku trailed off and went back to staring at the carpet.   
  
I wondered to myself how many fibers he had counted by now. Suddenly a question popped up in my mind, nagging me. I didn't want to ask, but my tongue had a mind of its own. "...Riku?"   
  
"Hmm?"   
  
"Uh...you know...when you...er...kissed me?" I asked, blushing madly and trying not to look at him.   
  
"...yeah..." Riku seemed more relaxed about it. Darn him and his smooth demeanor!!!   
  
"I....um...oh, geez...I...kinda felt something go into my mouth....what...um...was it?" I asked. I was about to die.   
  
I finally managed to look at Riku. His gaze had now moved sideways to another section of the carpet, and a smirk slowly crawled into the corner of his lips as he silently laughed. "....my tongue..." He said.   
  
I thought to myself for a moment. His tongue....it was...his tongue? But...how....why?...Um...what?   
  
Riku instantly picked up on my confused state and looked at me. "It's called French kissing." He told me, a teasing smirk on his face making his eyes sparkle mischievously, tying a knot in my stomach. "You've never kissed someone before, have you?" He asked me, leaning forward, his voice now teasing me even worse.   
  
I shifted in my spot, setting my feet on the couch. "No..." Why did people keep asking me these weird questions? How come I never got to corner people like that?   
  
Riku leaned back and silently laughed at me. Jerk. "Well, what? Have you ever kissed someone?" I asked back, hoping to make him squirm in his seat.   
  
Instead Riku simply leaned back and tilted his head back, closing his eyes and relaxing as he put his arms out on the top of the couch. "Nope."   
  
Hmph. What...ever! "Geez, Riku. You're such a....a..." I searched my mind for the correct word. Slicker? Cheese? Player? Woah...where did that word come from?   
  
Riku just smirked. One day that smirk would cost him dearly. I leaned back and tried to relax, realizing I was about to be stuck in a room alone with Riku in a black out for the next ten minutes. Better brace myself.   
  
***Erik watched as Akira followed Riku out of the common room into the next car. Curious, he got up and followed them, silently watching as she went into his room. He briefly fought with his conscience as he slowly peered through the window. They were just sitting and talking. Erik's face was knit with concern and slight suspicion as Riku leaned forward and gave Akira a teasing smirk.   
  
Erik sighed and bit his lip as he walked away back toward the common room, sat in a corner next to a window by himself and began to think, watching as the tunnel approached. ****  
  
I was caught off guard when suddenly the train entered the tunnel and everything went pitch-black in the room. I could hear Riku getting up and searching for something, and my face flooded with relief when a light in the room came on. "Well, I guess we got ten more minutes then." Riku said, sitting back down.   
  
"Hmm."   
  
"Hmm."   
  
"......."   
  
"......."   
  
It was agony. I looked up and for a brief moment I thought I could see Erik's face in the window in the door, but shrugged it off. What did Erik have to do with anything?   
  
I sighed and closed my eyes, waiting for Riku's inevitable flirting to start. It had to sooner or later, right? I was surprised when I opened my eyes and saw Riku just sitting there, looking at nothing. Boy. At least now I knew how he had managed to survive his boredom on the island. He counted all the sand on the beach. Suddenly Riku cleared his throat. "So..."   
  
"Yeah..."   
  
"Erik...."   
  
"What about him?"   
  
"He's not really...you know..."   
  
"No."   
  
"Hmmm....so are you two...."   
  
"Nah. Just friends."   
  
"Really?" there was a look of concern on his face.   
  
"Yeah." Now it changed to relief.   
  
"What are you so worried about?" I asked him.   
  
"Nothing. I was just curious."   
  
"Riku, we're just friends too. I'm not chasing after anyone here. I'm completely neutral."   
  
Oops. Wrong word. "So you're available, then?" Riku asked, now leaning forward.   
  
I rolled my eyes and gave an exasperated sigh. "Geez! What is with you people? I'm not looking, Riku."   
  
"But single."   
  
"Augh!" I gave up and tilted my head back to look at the ceiling.   
  
The light suddenly went out, leaving me and Riku in pitch black. I suddenly noticed how hypersensitive my hearing had become. I could hear Riku breathing softly, his mind deep in thought...I hoped. The train's intercom came on. "Dang...is it supposed to be this dark?.....oh, um, Passengers, the generator is starting up and the power should start up in about..." I waited for him to say ten minutes. "...nine minutes." Whatever.   
  
"Great. Now what are we supposed to do?" I asked the dark, boredom slowly ebbing at me.   
  
I could hear Riku moving around, and was suddenly aware that he was moving closer to me. "Don't. Even." I firmly said, reaching out into the dark to push him back.   
  
I must have been an idiot to follow Riku. Darn, I could have waited until after the tunnel, even. I wondered if I should look for a flashlight and try to escape to the common room where everyone else was...wait...would they notice that we were both gone?   
  
I could hear Riku sigh and sit down on the couch next to me, but not close. "Now what, Riku?" I asked, now sitting up.   
  
No response. That was bad. He was scooting closer. And a little closer. Closer still....I could feel his jacket brush against my shoulder....why me? Oh...why me? "Riku..." I said, my voice hinting my suppressed anger, giving him a chance to back off.   
  
His arm went behind my head. "Riku..." my voice got more tense.   
  
Riku was such a blockhead. No wonder he never needed a helmet. You could drop him twenty feet onto a concrete sidewalk on his head and he would be fine. I wondered about trying it at thirty feet as he crossed his legs towards me. "Riku..." I didn't even bother hiding how ticked off I was. This guy was just looking to get killed.   
  
Riku simply tried to hug me closer. "Riku, are you suicidal, or simply brain dead?" I asked, trying to push him away.   
  
Riku gave a small chuckle and let his head rest on my shoulder. I quickly stood up, and heard the sound of him falling on the floor. At that moment the back-up generator finally kicked in and orange light filled the room, dimly illuminating everything. I could now see Riku sprawled out on the floor, trying to get up. "Riku, what is your real reason for chasing after me like this? Are you just trying to get what you want, or is there actual attachment involved here?" I asked him, pinning him on the floor with my hiking boot for good measure.   
  
"Come on, Akira, let me up!" Riku said, not really trying when he struggled against me.   
  
"I want an answer, and then I'm leaving, because I'm sick and tired of feeling like everyone's trying to take advantage of me." I said, giving voice to my frustration.   
  
"I'm sorry Akira...I was just teasing you...It's what I live for...to see you get frustrated." Riku said, trying to be playful as I crushed him.   
  
"You had better be telling the truth, buddy, or else you're dead meat. I'll sic the entire gang on you." I told him, finally letting him up.   
  
After that Riku tried to pass the time by engaging in a friendly, one-sided conversation. Way out of character, considering, but it made sense when I thought about it, and tried not to answer most of his questions. Time passed quickly enough, and the tunnel finally ended, and daylight filled the room. "Thank Cetra!" I shouted, standing up.   
  
Riku looked up at me, a look of disappointment on his face. "Awww...do you have to?" He asked, trying to be cute.   
  
"Riku...please. What in the world am I going to do in here? Let you continually hit on, or, as you put it, `tease' me, and keep knocking you to the floor?" I asked him, hands on my hips.   
  
"No...I've got stuff we could do." What was with the pre-schooler voice?   
  
"Like what?" I was getting edgy.   
  
"Oh...you know. Stuff." A...seductive smirk? But the relentless teasing glimmer was in his eye. Yeah, he was teasing me.   
  
"Dear Cetra!" I shouted, finally leaving the room, not even looking back.   
  
I walked hastily down the hall and was surprised when I ran into Erik. "Oh, hey Erik. What are you doing?" I asked him.   
  
"I was just coming to let Riku know that they're giving away free pizza in the snack car. What are you doing here?"   
  
"Oh...Riku had something important to tell me."   
  
"Concerning our unknown mission?"   
  
"Duh! What else would he be telling me? The guy's a brick wall, all he can talk about is the mission." I quickly said, now walking past him to the next car.   
  
"Oh... okay. That's cool. So, um...I guess I'll see you there."   
  
"Yeah."  
  
I practically ran to the common car, where the group wasn't. Following signs on the walls I found my way to the snack car, where the entire group was, happily munching on pizza and soda. I watched as Sora held a piece of pizza up to Red, who sniffed it and turned his head away in disgust. Irvine got in on it too, waving a piece around and closing his eyes in bliss as he bit into it. Red wasn't convinced. Finally Kairi walked up, stepped on his foot, making him open his mouth to shout in pain. She then took a slice of pizza and shoved half of it into his mouth and made him chew it. Red grimaced at first, and then, slowly, discovered the hidden bliss of pizza.   
  
"What's this? Trying to give Red a taste of our culture?" I laughed as I sat down at the table to join them.   
  
"Oh, hey there Akira, where you been at, girl?" Vanna asked, using a fork and knife to cut through all of the gooey cheese on her pizza.   
  
"Looking for you guys." I simply answered, not surprised when Riku came running at top speed through the door, Erik right behind him.   
  
The group burst into laughter as Riku tripped over a crack in the floor and Erik fell on top of him. The two began to struggle to get up, Erik getting up first and barely making it to the pizza before Riku. "Oh, Riku. You're getting soft." I teased him.   
  
Riku tried to act cool, as usual. "Nah, he just had a head start, that's all."   
  
"Yeah, whatever." The whole group said.   
  
Riku and Erik both sat on either side of me, making me feel slightly self-conscious, and I felt the group's eyes on me. I looked up from my pizza and glanced over at Jerdania, who was now completely absorbed in a conversation with Vanna. Irvine took advantage of her distraction and gently pulled her plate away and began to eat her food. I rolled my eyes and tried not to laugh. Irvine was trouble to the core. Poor, poor Jerdania, caught up in his web... where did that come from?   
  
I looked up and saw that Erik was staring at Riku, who raised an eyebrow in question. Erik simply nodded back. I felt uncomfortable, and tried to start a conversation with Kairi. "So Kairi, wazzup?"   
  
"Oh, nothing really. Um...Akira..." Kairi pointed down.   
  
I looked down at my plate to see Erik's hand trying to slowly pull it away. I stabbed the plate down with my fork and turned to confront him. "Erik!!"   
  
Suddenly Riku reached over and picked a slice of pizza from my plate up and held it over my head. "Riku!! Give it back!" I yelled at him, snatching it from him as Erik reached around and took my entire plate.   
  
"Augh!!" I tried to get my plate back while Riku took the slice out of my hand.   
  
I stared Riku directly in the eye, giving him a death stare as he held the piece up to his mouth, then pointed behind me. I turned and saw that Erik had already finished half of the pizza. I whipped back and saw that Riku was finishing his as well. I sat down in my seat and hit my head on the table, not moving.   
  
After Riku and Erik had finished they both gave each other high-fives and left the snack room, leaving me with my face resting on the cheap linoleum. "Now....what...was...that?" Irvine's voice asked.   
  
Long lived rivalry." I said into the table.   
  
"Wow...I mean, I would never expect Riku to pull something as classic as that off...does he only do this to you?" Irvine quizzed me.   
  
I finally looked up at him through strands of my hair. Red was standing behind him, giving me a knowing look. Oh, man! "Unless you do something to him, yeah...he always tries to get something started with me first." I said.   
  
"Oooh....I see. Those guys like you, don't they?" Irvine teased me.   
  
I could imagine myself kicking Irvine in the head. I tried to control myself. "No."   
  
"Yeah, whatever."   
  
"Hey, Erik was involved too, you know."   
  
"But the fact is that Riku did that in front of all of us. I've know Erik for a while, and I know lives for making a fool out of himself in front of all of us...but a recluse like Riku? Come on!"   
  
"They're both just competing for attention." Kairi said, coming to my defense. "They could have been doing that for any of us."   
  
"Whatever. If I am correct, Kairi, Akira here is the only untaken one here." Irvine had a point there.   
  
"Yeah, you're right. Why is Kairi by herself, anyway?" Sora suddenly asked, scooting closer to Kairi.   
  
"If any one of you even so much as thinks about hooking me up, I will personally see to it that your life is made a nightmare."   
  
I was saved as Riku and Erik made their grand re-entry, and the group (excluding me) applauded them. "See Riku? Now my pranks are far superior to yours." Erik said, puffing himself up as he sat down.   
  
"What makes you so sure?" Riku asked as he sat down next to him.   
  
"Oh great, another battle to become alpha male." Sora muttered.   
  
"Well, at least you three boys aren't ashamed of being self-acclaimed betas." Kairi said aloud.   
  
The reaction from the three boys was instant. "Are you saying that we're second-place material?!" Red snapped.   
  
"So you think you got what it takes to be an alpha?" I said, getting Kairi's drift.   
  
"Nope." The three said, catching us off guard as they all sat back.   
  
"Oh, Geez, you sissies." Kairi teased.   
  
"And proud of it." Irvine said, lifting his soda in salute.   
  
After we had finally finished our food we headed back to the common room, where after only an hour, Irvine was already slumped in his chair, playing with strands of his hair. "Man, I am so bored." He suddenly spoke aloud, catching most of us off guard, making us jump.   
  
Suddenly Vanna smirked. "I know, let's play Round-up." She said, hinting at something.   
  
Irvine began to shift uncomfortably in his chair. "What's that?" I asked, enjoying the torment I was causing him. Hey, I can't help it. I love putting guys in agony, especially if they annoy me!   
  
"It's Irvine's favorite game. In fact, he made it up." Vanna said with a smile, making Irvine groan and put his head in his hand.   
  
"Tell us about it." Sora said.   
  
Irvine was starting to look highly embarrassed. "Well, once upon a time Irvine was signed up to be a teacher's assistant, and one day he got lucky when the gym teacher for one of the girl's divisions got sick." Vanna began to explain.   
  
Irvine's face was starting to turn pink, and he did everything he could to not look at Jerdania, pulling his hat down over his eyes.   
  
"So Irvine took the girls into the training center and decided he was going to teach the girls both evasive skills as well as the patterns of predatory monsters at the same time." Vanna began to laugh, having to stop to get her breath.   
  
Red and Erik both began to turn red as they tried to suppress their laughs. Vanna continued, "So...he got all the girls in there, and began...(more laughter)...to chase them around, trying to corner them..." Vanna couldn't finish, and she was about to fall on the floor.   
  
Erik caught his breath and helped her finish. "And so, the girls all ran out of the program room, and Irvine managed to herd them all into this storage closet...and he went in after them, like he had just trapped them....and when headmaster Cid heard all of the screaming, he found him in there..." Erik was now laughing so hard he had to kneel on the ground.   
  
Irvine looked like he was dead, hiding underneath his hat and coat. Jerdania was laughing as well, but was trying her hardest to stop. "Oh, come on guys, Irvine's all right." Jerdania said, slowly wrapping her arms around him.   
  
"But what exactly was he doing to the girls in there?" Sora asked, leaning on Kairi for support as he slowly got his breath back.   
  
"What does it matter, what he did in there?" Jerdania said, now slightly rocking him.   
  
"Well, it was bad enough that he got knocked off a rank and got his position as teacher's assistant taken away." Vanna clued.   
  
"What did you do?" Jerdania asked him, trying to find his face.   
  
Irvine muttered something incoherent, and Jerdania's face stayed expressionless, then suddenly a huge smile and tearing eyes told us that he had done something...bad. I found myself on the floor clutching my sides in pain from the laughter. "No more, please!" I begged, trying to get up.   
  
After that the trip was a little bit more interesting. Erik shared accounts of his various escapades, Red started to show Kairi various martial arts techniques, Irvine recovered and had chased Jerdania into another car, and I found myself admiring the view outside the window, watching all the trees and strange animals pass by, not really noticing when Jerdania ran back through the car closely followed by Irvine, both of them being hounded by angry train personnel. I suddenly found myself getting drowsy and closed my eyes, sinking into sleep.   
  
All right! That's the end of Chapter 9... In the next chapter, the actual plot will be revealed... come on people! Keep on reviewing, reading! Drawing! Emailing! Cafeteria Team, hide the hot dogs in the secret storage area! Leave nothing for the enemy! 


	10. Nakineiri Itami

Disclaimer: I made up the entirely original characters Red, Jerdania, Akirame and Vanna. The rest of `em belong to Squaresoft, even if it was my idea to make them older. Just wait till I get the hang of drawing Riku....his hair looks so darn cool! (I changed the style)   
  
CHAPTER 10   
  
OF DREAMS   
  
***I can feel the strong arms around me, holding me in comfort. I look up to see Erik's beautiful, deep brown eyes. Riku is walking away, joining a strange, dark figure. "Riku! Don't go!" I scream, trying to reach out to him.   
  
Erik's hold on me grows tighter, holding me back. I turn to look at Erik's face. His expression tells of newly found passion, his half-lidded brown eyes gazing at me, telling me things I don't want to know. I am growing uncomfortable, but am unable to fight back and grow weak in his embrace. I can feel the smooth skin of his bare shoulder under my chin... what's happening?   
  
I turn my head away and see Riku drawing his sword, swinging it through the air. His swing is met by a powerful, glowing weapon, shattering the Luna Luz. Riku kneels down, his head bent in submission.   
  
A figure, obscured by fire, smoke and shadow stands over Riku, holding a weapon up in the air, ready to strike. The weapon plunges down into Riku's back, and he looks up, his eyes wild as he screams in agony, shattering my soul. The weapon is withdrawn, and Riku collapses to the ground.   
  
I feel a hand begin to gently shake my shoulder, and the vision is growing blurry. I can hear Erik's voice. "Akira...Akira..." ***  
  
"Akira...Akira...wake up! We're here!" Erik's voice and gentle shaking slowly woke me up. I felt overly sensitive to the fact that his hand was gently touching me.   
  
"Where are we?" I asked, still foggy, and feeling ashamed of the sensations I had experienced in my dream.   
  
"We're at Transverse Town! You've been asleep for two whole hours!" He told me as I tried to stand up.   
  
I grabbed my head as a throbbing headache began to grow in my temples. I began to get dizzy and stumbled, feeling awkward when I fell forward into Erik's arms. He steadied me, patiently waiting for me to recover. "Was there something in that food?" I mumbled, my vision finally clearing.   
  
"I don't think so. All of us are feeling great and ready to go. Wow. Look out the window." I followed Erik's pointing finger, trying to ignore the fact that his arm was still around my shoulder, how close his face was to mine. Transverse town was a huge city, full of signs, people and lots, lots and lots of neon signs everywhere, none of which had been turned on yet.   
  
I was grateful that we were still in the safety of the train, and not outside. I slung my backpack over my shoulder, now fully awake. Erik stepped back and got his stuff. "Well, I guess you better go get Riku. He's in that room. He's been in there about as long as you've been asleep." He told me.   
  
I raised an eyebrow and did as I was told, pausing outside the door for a moment, then knocked. No response. I knew that I might regret it, seeing as to how the curtain was drawn over the tiny window in the door, but slightly cracked it open and peered in. I opened it a little wider and could see that Riku was laid out on one of the couches. I silently walked in, careful to close the door behind me. "Riku?" I gently said, not really wanting to wake him.   
  
Riku was asleep, but his face looked troubled, and he gently mumbled something. I knelt down in front of him, watching him, observing his face closely, secretly hoping his aqua eyes would open. I was hit with the images of my dream, and I could see the wicked sword piercing through his skin, greater effort driving it down, severing his spine. I could see directly into his eyes, full of pain and torment, reflecting pain, flooding with tears. I tried to shake them off, but they haunted me. Riku...reaching out to me as he screamed out my name in his dying breath.   
  
Riku grew more troubled in his sleep, his arms beginning to jerk. One of his arms slid over and his hand brushed my cheek. His hand suddenly opened, like he was reaching for something. "...'Kira..." he softly mumbled, his eyebrows twisted with unseen pain.   
  
I suddenly found myself gently taking his hand and putting it against my cheek, desperate to soothe him, not seeking my own comfort...or was I?.... Riku relaxed, and the hint of a smile, a real one, adorned his face, making him look so...peaceful and happy. His hand firmly wrapped my wrist and he pulled my hand to his face. He gently nuzzled my hand, making my heart suddenly burn with compassion. I began to feel so...strange. No, furious. Furious with myself, for being so double-sided, betraying both Erik and Riku. I couldn't get a handle on myself.   
  
Riku mumbled something and his long, dark eyelashes slowly parted and blinked open, his piercing turquoise eyes first spotting my arm, then slowly traveled up to my face where he met my furious, inward glare. "Akira?" He said, quickly coming to reality. "What?"   
  
"You grabbed me in your sleep and wouldn't wake up." I half-lied. Well, it was a half-truth too.   
  
Riku seemed to buy it, but still held my wrist, as if...he didn't really want to let go of his dream. "You have to let go now." I softly told him, still wanting to comfort him.   
  
Riku somewhat reluctantly complied, taking longer than necessary to let go, his fingers running along my hand as he let me slip from his grasp. My heart began to feel heavy. I didn't want to wake up. The sound of knocking at the door broke my/his/our? Dream-like reverie like a bucket of water in the face. "Coming." Riku called, now sitting up and moving to the edge of the bed, his eyes taking me in for just a second, then he got up and grabbed his stuff, abandoning the brief fantasy I had just experienced. I felt so...screwed up. Augh...what had happened to the Snow Queen? I searched my mind and felt her slowly rebuild herself, grateful as my normal, curt, sharp mannerism returned. But then I took a fall. "So...did you have a good dream?" I heard myself ask. I had jumped off the bridge, and now I was watching the ground come rushing up to meet me.   
  
"What?" Riku asked, looking confused as he shoulder his duffel bag.   
  
"Um...I was just curious if you slept okay." My parachute opened, saving me from certain death. The Snow Queen wins round 1.   
  
"Not really." He said, not looking at me anymore as he headed out the door.   
  
Something that felt almost like hurt hit me. Would I really be there to witness his destruction? Or was it all...just a dream? Another throbbing headache made my thoughts fuzzy. I would never eat that much pizza again. Junk food is bad for you.   
  
Erik was there to greet us. "What took you so long, Akira?" Erik asked in his usual, cheerful manner.   
  
"Riku sleeps like a rock." I said. Hmph. The truth is overused.   
  
Erik shrugged and followed us out of the train. The rest of the group was waiting for us. "So, Vanna, do you really know this place as well as you say?" Riku asked as he approached the group.   
  
"Yep. Is there something in particular you're looking for? We gotta find it now before it gets dark and the weird people and monsters start coming out. This place is almost as bad as Midgar at night." Vanna said.   
  
"You wouldn't happen to know a Cloud Strife, would you?" Riku asked.   
  
"No...I don't think so. If you want, we can find a telephone booth and use the directory."   
  
"Sounds like a plan. Let's go."   
  
We followed Riku out of the train station and entered into the city. I was confounded by how big the city was, but how...calm it seemed during the day. "Where's all the people?" Kairi suddenly asked.   
  
"They only come out at night. This city is a nocturnal city. Everything happens at night. Parties, drinking, running around, then the monsters come out to pick on the drunks and the homeless." Vanna said, her voice full of distaste.   
  
"You really hate this place, don't you?" Erik asked, admiring the tall buildings and the various screens advertising different things.   
  
"I used to live here as a child. This is the very city where I learned one of the hardest lessons in life." Vanna said, her fists starting to ball into fists.   
  
Erik dropped the subject as we crossed the wide, empty street over to a phone booth. We waited and sat on a long bench while Riku stepped into the booth and began to fumble with the huge phone book.   
  
I found myself caught between Erik, who sat at the end, and Kairi. At the other end was Irvine, who hemmed in Jerdania and the rest of us. Suddenly Erik gave Irvine a sly smile and a wink. Oh no...a challenge. Erik then bumped my shoulder, while Irvine did the same to Jerdania. I bumped Erik back, and got another bump in return, this time knocking me into Kairi. Kairi then helped me ram Erik, who managed to stand his ground. Irvine was now shoving Jerdania into Vanna and Red, who both shouted in protest and pushed back.   
  
Before long, the entire group of us was desperately battling Irvine and Erik, who were now getting a little more resistance than they expected.   
  
Riku stepped out of the phone book, and stopped in his tracks when he saw the now chaotic shove-match taking place on the bench. With one great shove Irvine managed to push me and Erik off of the bench, while the others then shoved back and ended up falling to the ground. I just sat on the ground on top of Erik where I had landed, laughing hysterically. Riku sadly shook his head at us, then looked to the heavens for help. "Why? Why me? I leave them by themselves for only five minutes, and they've managed to start World War 4 on a city bench!"   
  
We all began to get up and pick up our stuff, still laughing. "So, did you find it?" Vanna asked.   
  
"No. Sorry guys. Looks like we'll have to pitch here tonight. We can't leave until I find what I'm looking for." He told us.   
  
"Well, I know of a pretty good hotel." Vanna offered.   
  
"Sounds good. Show us the way."   
  
Vanna's knowledge of the area proved invaluable to us as she easily found the hotel building amidst all the other things. We walked into a somewhat shoddy lobby and waited while Vanna set us up with rooms. "All right...let's see... there are...8...no, wait... a good number of us. She has five rooms available, and in each room there are 2 beds. I guess one of us will have our own room."   
  
I knew I couldn't stand to be alone, not in a place like this... I looked at the partly-worn carpet, the out-dated wallpaper that was faded and starting to peel. There was a slight draft, making me shiver. "I'll take it. I need the privacy so I can continue planning things out." Riku said.   
  
Vanna consented, and then took the keys and prepared to hand them out. "Now, just share these among yourselves, and--"   
  
Riku cut her off. "Hang on...I don't think that's such a good idea. Erik is with Irvine, no...never mind. Irvine is with Sora, I'll trust Erik with...oh...I guess Kairi..."   
  
Erik was completely confused and interrupted him.   
  
"Look, none of this makes sense! Why don't we just pair up with our partners?" he suggested, getting nods of approval from us.   
  
"Good idea. The only problem is that Akira is my partner, and I need privacy so I can work on my stuff."   
  
"Oh, Geez, get over the anti-social thing for a change Riku, and just board up with someone. That way it all works out, plus the extra room can be Vanna's." Irvine said.   
  
I had the sickening feeling that Irvine was trying to push the relationship between me and Riku, which ticked me off. Why wouldn't these people just leave us, especially me, alone?! "Well, whatever works for you." Riku said, holding up his hands.   
  
I looked at Riku's face. He looked worn and tired, about to collapse. The group agreed with Erik's suggestion, and happily set off with their assigned partners to their rooms. Riku and I silently headed down the hall with them and came to our door. He quietly unlocked the room and opened the door. The room was simple, two small beds, a bathroom, a window, a desk with a lamp. The room smelled of...I deeply inhaled, trying to identify the scent that seemed so familiar.   
  
"Strange. Smells like paopu fruit in here." Riku mumbled to himself as he dropped his bag next to the floor and made a bee-line for one of the beds.   
  
Just to be sure, I sniffed the air again. He was right. The tangy, sweet scent was paopu. I found it rather...unnerving. On our island the paopu fruit was fabled, and it was said that if you shared one with someone you cared deeply for, like a friend...or for all intensive purposes, your true love, the fruit's magic would cause you and that person's destiny to be eternally intertwined. Thus the name for our island home, Destiny Islands.   
  
However, the fruit was indigenous to our island, and even there it was extremely rare and highly valued, never to be picked unless it was to be shared. How in the world had someone found the scent to freshen the air in our room? I mulled over the question as I put my bag on the floor and sat down on the bed across from Riku, who had flung himself face-down on the bed. "How could you be so tired after that nap you had on the train?" I asked.   
  
Riku turned his head to look at me, his eyes a little dull. "I don't know...I just feel sapped." His voice sounded a little dry.   
  
"You need some water or something?" I asked, reminding myself not to let myself sound too general in my offer.   
  
"I could really, really use a good massage right now." Riku said, now setting his chin on his arms.   
  
I threw a pillow at his head for good measure, and went to dig through my backpack for...and realized I didn't have anything to look for, other than an excuse to not pay attention to the guy in the room with me. Riku gave a loud sigh and I turned to see that he was watching me. "What now!?" I asked, giving up my search for an excuse in my backpack.   
  
"Oh, I was just getting ready to have a board meeting with the voices in my head."   
  
I laughed to myself at Riku's wit as I pulled out two different shirts and compared them...hmm...black sleeveless tank top with the blue Jean jacket...or the or the other black sleeveless tank top with the blue Jean jacket... "I like the black tank top better." Riku said.   
  
I turned to see him now sitting up and watching me. What was it about me that kept finding so captivating. "How long have you been watching me?" I asked.   
  
"Hmm...since I first saw you." Oh....how sweet...   
  
"Didn't have anything better to do?" Must...resist...   
  
"Than watch you, are you kidding?" Gah!   
  
"Gah!"   
  
"What?"   
  
"Geez."   
  
"Oh."   
  
I rolled my eyes and took my clothes with me into the bathroom, closing the door behind me. When I had changed and walked back out, Riku was staring at the floor, his hand once again absently tracing something on his palm. What was with him? Riku might be pretty...aloof, but not that bad. "Uh...Riku, you `kay?"   
  
"Hmm...." Yep. Perfectly uncertain.   
  
"That must be your favorite phrase."   
  
"Yep. By the way, I...uh...hmm..."   
  
Riku was starting to look a little...bashful? "Riku, just cough it up." The last thing I needed was to feel my heart melting as I watched the faintest hint of blushing spread across his lightly tanned cheeks...   
  
"I was wondering...if...you...wanted to...you know, just hang out or something...we might be able to pick up some clues on Cloud."   
  
"Riku, I'll never understand you. You have no problem with trying to kiss me, but you get shy when you want to hang out with me. Riku, we're friends. There shouldn't be a problem there."   
  
"Is that a yes?"   
  
I sighed. "Well...what about all the others?"   
  
"Yeah, I guess maybe some of the others could tag along..." I could hear the aggravation hidden under his breath. I would never let that guy get me alone. Not after the beach incident. I hadn't bothered to even look at my wallet since he had returned it...   
  
"Okay then. Let's go."   
  
Riku and I headed out of the room and walked down the hall, knocking on doors and talking to our friends. In the end, we headed toward the lobby followed by Jerdania, Kairi, Irvine (of course), Vanna, and Sora. Erik and Red had decided to go out and do their own thing instead.   
  
Riku stopped in the lobby and approached the receptionist. "Um...excuse me. You wouldn't happen to know anything about...a Cloud Strife, would you?" he asked.   
  
The woman cocked an eyebrow and thought. "Hmm...don't think so." Oh well.   
  
Riku shrugged and lead us outside into the city street. The sky was getting dark, and more people were beginning to walk around, shouting, laughing, heading somewhere. We all instinctively stood close together, and I felt...weird when Riku stepped as close to me as humanly possible. The street lights began to come on.   
  
"We need to stay close together, especially to our partners." Vanna said, now stepping out in front of us. "I know this two people, Tifa and Barret, both are good friends of mine, and they run a dance club called the `Mei Tenshi'. They both have a lot of connections, and could probably help us."   
  
"I don't see why we shouldn't check it out, then." Riku said, crossing his arms.   
  
"All right then, just follow me. I suggest you keep a good hold of the person next to you once we get to Fira Street, that's a major crime area." Vanna warned us, now leading us down the busy sidewalk.   
  
I tried to think of something to think about as we made our way through the slowly growing stream of people. I kept my eye on the street signs, and felt a little scared when the name Fira St. caught my eye. Riku grabbed my wrist, and Jerdania behind me caught hold of the back of my jacket. The faces of the people around us began to change from easy-going to hardened stares. I began to hear the low pounding beat and saw the neon glow as we approached the good-sized club. There was a growing crowd outside the entrance. Vanna approached the tall, muscular man standing next to the door, checking I.D's.   
  
"Vanna! Long time no see!" The man happily said as he let a group of people enter.   
  
"Great to see you, Barret!" Vanna replied.   
  
"So, `sup at Balamb?"   
  
"Not a lot..." Vanna lifted her hand and showed him her ring.   
  
"Woo, girl! Who's da guy?"   
  
Vanna smiled and whispered something in his ear.   
  
"No way! `Grats! So, what brings you here?"   
  
"We're trying to dig up some info."   
  
"Hmm...you with the group behind you?"   
  
"Yeah. They're some friends I'm helping."   
  
"They all `bove 16?" I bit my lip...would he let us in?   
  
"Yeah."   
  
"'Kay then. I trust you. Come on in." Barret stepped aside the door and walked in with us, talking to someone else who went outside to take over the job of turning people away.   
  
The club was...a little overwhelming for me. The whole place was dark, lit up by neon signs and black lights. We walked onto a catwalk that ended in stairs that led down to the dance floor and a bar. The place was starting to get crowded. Irvine and Jerdania seemed to be enjoying the experience. I never thought that Jerdania would be the party-type. Hyne, let her stay out of trouble.   
  
I kept as close to Riku as I could as we walked around the dance floor and headed toward the bar. The loud, unfamiliar trance beat made my head feel a little dizzy. Barret walked around the back of the bar. "You guys just chill here. I'll go get Tifa."   
  
We stood next to the bar and waited. I looked at the crowd that was in the room. There was absolutely no dress code whatsoever. People wore mostly casual clothes, but there was an increasing number of...strangely dressed people in the club as well, and they seemed to be the most skilled dancers, pulling off twisted break-dance moves. I enjoyed the music and the beat...but this wasn't really my scene...I didn't know how to dance worth a darn.   
  
Irvine suddenly smiled at Jerdania. "You wanna go out there for a while?" he asked her.   
  
"If it's okay with Riku."   
  
Riku shrugged, then looked at my watch. "It's 9:00. Be back right here in fifteen minutes."   
  
"Woohoo!" Irvine joyously dragged Jerdania out and disappeared into the mass of people, Sora and Kairi following after.   
  
Riku was quiet, as usual, but still stayed as close to me as he could, warding off the guys who approached me by giving them a steely look and putting an arm over my shoulder. Good ol' Riku, always there when you need him. And also when you don't. My heart skipped a small beat when a familiar beat began to play. It couldn't be. My heart flipped when the lyrics filled the room. They were playing my favorite song in the whole world. "I can't believe they're playing Utada Hikaru." I said.   
  
"Hmm?" Riku turned to look at me.   
  
"This is Utada's song, Hikari! Well, the remix anyway. I love this song."   
  
"I think I've heard it once or twice. Didn't they play it when we walking past the Golden Paopu?"   
  
I shifted my gaze as I remembered the time we had out late, and on our way home we had to pass by the island's bar. It had been only me and Riku. I could still smell the smoke and alcohol pouring out the door when the inlander had walked out and spotted me, his head slightly weaving in his drunken state.   
  
Riku had single-handedly defended me, as well as nearly killed the abusive drunk. "Yeah, I remember." I said under my breath.   
  
The exact same song had played the night before we left, when I was in my room, trying to fall asleep. I had left the radio on, trying to drown out the sound of my heart's beating. When the song came on, my mind was flooded with thoughts of...Riku.   
  
My thoughts were broken when Barret came back out, followed by a somewhat skimpily dressed woman. "Hey Vanna!" Woah! Vanna was still here?   
  
"Heya Teef!" The two girls happily exchanged a special handshake.   
  
"So, I heard you need some info."   
  
"Yeah. Riku here's looking for a Cloud Strife."   
  
Tifa bit her lip and searched her mind. A spark of recognition lit up her eyes. "Oh yeah! I think I've seen him here once or twice here, but the guy seems to be pretty shady. He lives in town, but he refuses to say where."   
  
Riku nodded. Well, at least we knew he was a local. "Do you think he'll show up tonight?" Riku asked.   
  
"Yeah, I think he might. He seems to be looking for someone."   
  
I looked at Riku. Pieces of a puzzle were starting to form, but they didn't really fit together. "What time does he show up?"   
  
"I imagine about an hour."   
  
"Great. A whole hour. Now what?" I said, looking to Riku.   
  
"Well, I guess we got some free time." Another guy approached and leaned against the bar next to me.   
  
"Hey there." The guys said, looking friendly.   
  
Riku didn't like it. He put his arm around my waist and pulled me close. "Do you mind If I dance with her?" The guy asked.   
  
"Yeah, I do."   
  
"Whatever." The guy said, now leaving.   
  
"Riku, what was that for?" I asked as he let me go.   
  
"Look at his back pocket."   
  
I looked over and saw the edges of a plastic bag sticking out. "Oh." I didn't even want to imagine what was in that bag. Drugs? Something worse?   
  
I shivered and hunched over the bar. This wasn't home. I was beginning to miss things, like the friendly (well, mostly) people, my bed, the tree-bench. I looked at my watch. Still another 45 minutes. I was a little surprised when our friends rejoined us, all smiles and laughs. "You're not going to believe this. They have a paint war going on in another room!" Kairi laughed.   
  
"We have another 45 minutes." I said.   
  
"How cool! Come on you guys! You have got to try it out!" Jerdania excitedly told us, pulling on my arm.   
  
"Sounds like...fun." I said, reminding myself that I was the outgoing one, and that Riku was the introvert.   
  
"I gotta stay here." Riku simply said.   
  
I shrugged my shoulders. The girls, led by the boys, eagerly took me through the crowd and over to another room. The mess inside was classic. People where running around in full-body jumpsuits, carrying squirt guns and spraying paint that had a neon glow in the black lights, then running and reloading from paint cans that were spread out everywhere. It was a war zone, complete with all sorts of junk to hide under, climb on... "Oh yeah!" This would be fun.   
  
I quickly walked over to a rack that held jumpsuits and pulled it over my clothes and grabbed a squirt gun. "You're all going down!" I told my friends, pulling my hair back and putting a shower cap over it.   
  
Thus the war began. The girls and boys formed a team when the supervisor of the paint zone signaled a new war by sounding a loud buzzer. All havoc broke loose....the next thing I knew, Jerdania had Irvine in a corner, Sora was chasing after me while being chased by Kairi...and I was tripping over a...rather occupied couple who evidently didn't want to be found. I apologized and quickly hid...some where else. "My goodness...I hope no one else finds them there...what a way to make a peace treaty between warring tribes." I muttered under my breath as I spotted a paint can across the room and planned to dash across.   
  
I held my breath and ran, but was stopped by a squirt of paint in the face. I felt the paint drying over my face, and found that it had covered my eyes and mouth as well. I couldn't open either. I frantically backed up and clawed at my face to no avail. I heard one of the other girls running over to assist me. "Come on, Kairi. Let's go get her to a bathroom." Jerdania's voice said.   
  
"What about the boys?"   
  
"I'll get them. Stay here with her and help her get the jumpsuit off."   
  
I was led over to another spot and patiently waited as Kairi helped take the suit off. Later I heard the voices of the boys. "Woah! I thought hitting the face was against the rules here." Irvine's voice.   
  
"It is." Sora.   
  
"I'll strangle the guy who did this." Irvine again.   
  
"We'll get her to the bathroom and see if we can't scrub it off."   
  
I was then lead blindly out of the room and suddenly felt someone bump into me. "Woah, I was just coming to tell you guys that Cloud'll be here any moment. What the.... We don't have that color here." Tifa?   
  
"Really? Do you think someone would bring their own?"   
  
"No. In fact...I'm not even sure that's paint. You'd better get her cleaned up."   
  
Oh great. Now what? I kept bumping into random people, and finally I heard the sounds of a bathroom, running water... "Um....it's not coming off. Try more soap."   
  
"It's still not working! What is this stuff?"   
  
"I don't know. Go get Riku. He should know what to do."   
  
"In a girl's bathroom?"   
  
"Oh, right...get Tifa!"   
  
One of the girls left to get Tifa, leaving me here to continue clawing at the stuff on my face. Later I heard the girl returning. "Here, let me see if this works." Tifa's voice.   
  
I felt something being sponged on my face, and the paint was corroding away. At last I opened my mouth and coughed up the bits that had gotten into my mouth. "What was that stuff?" I asked, taking a breath.   
  
"No idea. I've never seen stuff used like that in the paint zone before...hmm....I'm going to have to see who Barret left in charge of security..."   
  
This was bizarre. We left the bathroom and decided to head back to the bar where Riku was waiting. Riku was disturbed when he saw how aggravated we looked. "What happened to ya, Akira?"   
  
"How could you tell it was me?"   
  
"Cuz when something bad's happened to you, you tend to bite your lip and knit your eyebrows."   
  
"Riku...stop knowing everything. Secondly, some one in the paint zone plastered me in the face with something other than paint."   
  
"You want me to hunt them down and kill them?"   
  
"Nah...too messy a job for you. The last thing I need is a head on a platter." Well, other than his, of course...   
  
"Excuse me." A male voice said from behind me.   
  
I turned to see a tall-ish blond with spiky hair and penetrating blue eyes staring at me. "Who are you." Riku to the rescue, hand now on my shoulder...a grateful change.   
  
"You're Riku?" The man asked.   
  
"Yeah."   
  
"Good. I need you to come with me. Bring your friends as well."   
  
We silently followed the mysterious blonde out of the club and back into the street. We were confused, but remained silent as he led us away from the noise and people and down an empty alley, stopping in front of a door in the side of a building. With some effort the man managed to open it, and led us down a small catwalk to a room. Once the lights were turned on, I realized that this was the man's...well, home. It was furnished with a bed and shelves loaded with books and various chemistry sets. What in the world?...   
  
The man sat down on the bed and had Riku stand in front of him. "I need you to take off your gloves." The man ordered.   
  
Riku looked at me for a moment, then slipped off the black rubber gloves off of his hands, then showed them palms up. I gasped when I saw the strange Japanese markings scarring his hand. "What?"   
  
The man closely inspected them, then paused for a minute before touching them. The man's eyes involuntarily closed.   
  
A horrifying vision filled the man's head. Visions of his previously lost love, the wicked sword that had slain her. Fire filled his mind, and a shadowy figure stood among the flames. A dark voice rang through his mind. "I'm baaa-aack." It mockingly told him before releasing him from the vison.   
  
The man's eyes opened, now filled with fear and anger. "No! It can't be!!! I thought I had KILLED HIM!!!"   
  
We all stepped back, looking at each other for answers. "Woah...who's back?" Irvine asked.   
  
"That wretched Sephiroth!!! He's alive somehow!!!"   
  
"Sephiroth..." The name was familiar... of course! Nearly everyone had heard of the villainous Sephiroth...the crazed SOLDIER... but hadn't he been killed?   
  
"How could he possibly be alive? And why?" Kairi asked, looking frightened.   
  
"I don't know...he must have met someone in the Lifestream...some one with enough power to raise someone from the dead..."   
  
"But...how does this involve us?" Riku asked, now looking at his hand.   
  
"Hmm....that could be nearly impossible to tell...the markings on your hands...they translate into something in an ancient language that hasn't been used for centuries... It says...Nakineiri Itami."   
  
"Naki-whatie?" Irvine asked, looking at the scar.   
  
"It's pronounced Nah-kee-neh-ee-ree Ee-tah-mee. Both words mean different things. Nakineiri can mean...crying oneself to sleep...giving up in frustration....accepting meekly or being compelled to accept a situation. Itami can mean pain....ache...grief or distress....so I'd say that Nakineiri Itami was meant to mean something like being forced to accept pain or grief."   
  
"Real encouraging, eh Riku?" Irvine said.   
  
"But...she said something about `it holds the key to the future'." Riku said, gazing at his palm.   
  
"Hmm....almost like a riddle, in its own way...I'd hate to tell you this...but it looks like it might mean that you will have to accept some sort of pain in the future." Cloud said, his face somewhat hardened.   
  
Riku had fallen completely silent. This was even too much for me. Hmm....Riku....Nakineiri Itami....was there some sort of twisted connection? "So...how does this involve any of us?" I asked, trying to dig deeper.   
  
"Well...I'm not entirely sure....by any chance have any of you run into any scrapes lately?" Cloud asked.   
  
"Let's see...there was me and Riku in the training center when we ended up fighting a real monster...that Anacondaur in the field...the thing that attacked us on our way to Balamb and when somebody squirted that stuff in my face in the paint zone." I summed up.   
  
"Those are of no coincidence. He is obviously after particular members of your group for some reason...but why?"   
  
I was just as confused. All of this was going way over my head. I really, really needed to just...sit down and think. "I need to sit."   
  
I was grateful when cloud offered me a spot on his bed. I sat down and put my chin in my hands. Sephiroth was alive...he was after us, or rather me and Riku, it seemed...being forced to accept grief or pain...what was going on?! "Perhaps the dreams of tonight will help you." Cloud suggested.   
  
I looked at my watch. It was 1 a.m. "Woah! How'd it get so late so fast?" I yawned.   
  
"I can escort you back to where you are staying."   
  
We accepted his offer, and the shortcut through the alleys was fast, but included a couple close encounters with drunks and the monsters eating them. Once back at the hotel, Cloud stopped to say something. "All of you need to stay on your guard. If Sephiroth wants something, he won't stop until he either gets it or is killed trying. Take all precautions. Riku, meet me in the city library tomorrow at around noon. Bring your friends as well."   
  
Glad that he was finally finished, I silently opened the door and started to enter the lobby. I took a quick glance back to see that Cloud had disappeared...a shiver ran down my spine. The air seemed to be a mite cold. We hastily walked to our rooms and were instantly relaxed by the sight of our beds. I quickly beat Riku to the bathroom and changed, cleaned up and leapt back out in record time, then jumped into bed and turned off the lamp next to my bed, welcoming the dark of the room. "I'm gonna take a shower. That okay with you?" Riku asked me.   
  
"What do I care." I said, my eyes blissfully closed as I buried my face into my pillow.   
  
When I heard the sound of the bathroom door opening, I opened my eyes just for a second. In the slightly yellow light, Riku's hair looked...pale. I decided to check it out. "Riku...could you hang on for a minute?" I asked, now getting up.   
  
"What is it?"   
  
"Hold still." I grabbed the back of Riku's neck and pulled his head down so I could see it better. Indeed, not only was his hair pale, but... "Riku, did you know that the roots of your hair are actually gray?" Well, a white-ish-gray anyhow. Like the color...an elderly man would have.   
  
"So you noticed, huh?" Riku sounded a little depressed.   
  
"What's the big deal?"   
  
"It kinda scared me, the first time I noticed that my starting turning gray so fast. I've been having to dye it at a good pace to keep it from showing."   
  
"Well, I could see why it would scare you. When did it start getting that way?"   
  
"I'd guess about...several months ago. Surprised it took so long before someone finally noticed, except for your mom." Riku looked eager to get his shower over with. So I let him go.   
  
"Strange." I said to myself as I settled back into bed. "First he was a brunette, then chrome blue, and now silver...how weird..."   
  
I closed my eyes and listened to the sound of running water. Strange, how it seemed so comforting to hear the sounds that let me know that Riku was nearby. All the little things about him, his familiarity, brought a sense of peace to my mind. Well, except for his newfound passion for teasing me relentlessly. Hopefully it would get old with him.   
  
After what seemed to be an eternity the bathroom door finally reopened and I took a quick, forbidden peek to see him coming out in a black tee-shirt and grey shorts, his hair wet. It would be a mess by tomorrow morning. Rooming with him just to see his hair all screwed up just once was worth it.   
  
I decided just to watch him for a while. He walked over to the window, drawing the blinds and making sure it was shut, then picking up his sword and leaning it against the wall close to his bed. He finally settled under the blankets with his back to me, and I quickly closed my eyes when he rolled over to face me across the short gap between our beds. After a minute I peeked at him between my eyelashes. He was still looking at me, but a look of complete peace had taken away the cold attitude he had been tormenting us with. He looked just so....so darn cuddly. I clenched the mattress to resist the sudden urge...I was losing...oh no... I got up and knelt down on the floor in front of him. "Hey Riku." I said, now having lost complete control of myself. "You look kinda cute when you're not trying to freeze things with your ego." I was ashamed of myself, but I couldn't seem to get a grip.   
  
"Thanks. Is that all you had to tell me?" his voice was soft, but humorous. Perfect.   
  
"Yeah. And I wanted to give you a hug." My carefully checked reputation as a Snow Queen was going down in flames.   
  
Riku sat up a little and wrapped his arms around me. My heart skipped a beat and I tightly squeezed him before...*sigh*...reluctantly letting go. I got up and snuggled back into my bed, feeling like a five year old in a candy store. I had no idea that Riku would feel that warm...or smell that good. Mmm...kinda like lavender... "Thank you." I suddenly heard him say.   
  
"You're welcome." The smell of paopu seemed stronger. So warm...so gentle...like a big....soft...teddy bear. I had actually felt his heart beat against my chest for that brief moment...so perfect. The warmth...like sunshine...spring had come and the Snow Queen had melted...heck, it was just a hug! But then again...I hadn't hugged Riku for nearly....five years. No...maybe longer.   
  
I smiled as I felt myself drifting off, relishing the sound of Riku's soft breathing. I peeked through my eyelashes at him one last time. Yep. He was still looking at me, but now...his lips curved in an actual smile, like the kind a child finding peace in his mother's arms would give. Riku looked so cute, especially the way his eyes seemed to softly glow. But deep down inside, I knew that the sudden, "fluffy" feeling everything had suddenly taken on wouldn't last beyond tonight. So warm. I smiled. December was just around the corner, and the Snow Queen would rebuild. Just for a brief, but ever lingering moment a thought crossed my mind. Would hugging Erik feel that good too? Maybe I would find out...I heard Riku finally switching off his lamp. I opened my eyes. He was still looking at me.   
  
***The dark figure muttered curses under his breath as he sat on top of the building, watching them through his mind's eye. They seemed impossible to separate, even when they were caught off guard and alone. This was going to be much harder than thought.   
  
He stopped for a moment and whisked a long strand of hair out of his face. Even harder now that they had the help of the blonde. His lips spread in a wicked smile. He remembered the blonde. His revenge would take time, planning for sure. "What goes around comes around..." *** 


	11. Half the Answer to the Riddle

Disclaimer:....uh...I now have part ownership of my own characters....details later on....  
  
CHAPTER 11: HALF THE ANSWER TO THE RIDDLE  
  
***I closed my eyes and felt the dream world gently overtaking me.   
  
A large round room lit only in the center by a spotlight which cast shadows over a metal desk and two figures. Moving closer. Voices, arguing. "No! I can't do it now, it's too soon!" So familiar...I know one of them.  
  
"Fine then. Have your way, but it must happen, and the sooner the better. Don't allow yourself to be drawn to them." A masculine voice.  
  
"No...wait...I have a plan."  
  
One of the figures turns and looks into my soul...a concerned look crosses his face as he approaches and embraces me, just before pulling out a knife and ramming it into my back. I scream as I feel the searing heat and warm liquid pouring down my back.  
  
I suddenly jerked awake. I looked at the clock on the night stand. It was 3:00 in the morning. I looked over to see Riku sleeping fitfully, tangled in the sheets, mumbling and jerking. "...no...'Kira..." The words made me shiver.   
  
I gently slid to the floor and kneeled in front of him, like I had done so many times before as a child, seeking his comfort whenever I had a nightmare. I gently placed a hand on his and watched as if by a miracle, the nightmare instantly stopped. When I withdrew my hand, the mumbling started again. I sighed and gently shook his shoulder. "Riku...wake up." I gently whispered, knowing how easy it was to wake him up from past experience, when he had lived with me and my mom as a kid.  
  
Riku's breathing hastened and he jolted up, panting. He looked around, bewildered, then relaxed when his eyes rest on me. "A nightmare..." he softly said.   
  
"Yeah. You okay now?"  
  
"Akira...honestly, whenever I'm with you, everything is okay." He said with an earnest heart, reaching out to pull me up onto the bed next to him.   
  
I only smirked and allowed him to lean up against me. "So, what did you dream about?" I gently asked him.   
  
"Your mother's meat loaf."   
  
I began to helplessly laugh. "That is so true." I managed to say, noticing how our crossed legs were touching. I didn't care. I needed the comfort.   
  
"So...how come you haven't tried to hurt me yet?" Riku asked, leaning back away from me, much to my discontent.   
  
"I...had this really scary dream...you weren't there, and someone tried to..." I turned my eyes away, now feeling stupid.   
  
However, Riku's eyes instantly began to tear up. "I've been having the same dreams." His voice choked up a little as he leaned towards me.   
  
Without any resistance I let myself be pulled into his lap and nuzzled my face against his warm chest, listening to his heartbeat beneath the soft cotton shirt, feeling his strong, but soft arms wrapping around me, keeping me completely safe from the outside world...my friend...  
  
I felt something that had been missing from my heart, like a hole, fill up with a love that was so pure...so true...something warm, but wet dripped onto my shoulder. I looked up into Riku's face...and saw that under the long, dark lashes that so strangely offset the rest of his pale hair, tears glowing and shimmering in the moonlight. "We'll always be friends, right?" I asked him, sitting up and wiping his tears away.   
  
"Oh, Akira." He softly said, his eyes gently glowing. He rest his head on my shoulder, making my heart do a triple back-flip.   
  
After what seemed a peaceful eternity Riku finally sat up again and gently brushed a piece of hair away from my face. I secretly relished the feeling of his bare fingers gently stroking my face. Friends...I felt him pulling me forward, and I allowed my head to resettle against his chest, and listened to his heartbeat as the world seemed to fade back into dreams...  
  
********************  
  
(A/N: I have decided to co-write the rest of this story with the authoress chibi_Kisaki. As a result the rest of the story will be written in 3rd person. Characters thoughts appear in italics.)  
  
Akirame awoke slowly when the alarm clock went off. She was in her bed. Had last night only been a dream? She looked up when Riku sat up and turned off the alarm. "Morning." He nonchalantly said. "You fell asleep last night so I put you back in your bed."   
  
"Darn!" The quality of her life seemed to drop several points. "Riku, last night didn't happen, okay?" She told him, embarrassed.  
  
"I won't tell anyone, but I won't forget it either. That was the best night of my life." He told her, reaching out a hand to help her up.   
  
She took the hand and resisted the urge to tear his arm out of its socket. "I wonder where Erik and Red got off to last night." She said to herself as she got her stuff and headed to the bathroom.   
  
Riku was ready, and was laying out on her bed, his face buried in her pillow. "Come on Riku, let's go wake up the others." She said, pulling on one of his legs.  
  
Riku didn't budge, but instead muttered something into the pillow. Sighing, she dug through her bag and pulled out her bottle of body spray. She walked over to Riku and sat on the edge of the bed. As soon as Riku sat up to inevitably stare at her, she sprayed him with the sweet smelling scent. "What did you do THAT for?" He asked her, trying to rub it off his face. "Now I'm going to smell like...you for the rest of the day."  
  
"Hey, don't insult the way I smell!" She told him, pulling him up.   
  
Riku and Akira then walked out into the hall and began knocking on the doors to wake up their companions. Once everyone was awake, they all assembled in the lobby. Erik looked a little bit more tired than everyone else, his eyes a little bloodshot.   
  
"So, where do we go now?" Kairi asked, leaning up against Sora.   
  
"The library. Cloud should be waiting there for us. Vanna, can you take us there?" Riku asked.  
  
"Sure thing."  
  
They then trooped out of the lobby and back into the now peaceful city streets. As they walked along, chatting and admiring the late morning peace, a thought occurred to Akira. "Wait a mintue...that guy Barret, at the Mei Tenshi...wasn't he one of the nurses back at Balamb?" She asked Riku.  
  
Riku thought for a moment and then looked at her. "Yeah...you're right. What's up with that?"  
  
"Part time job." Vanna simply explained.   
  
"Whatever." Akira thought.  
  
After a while the library, a large white building with marble pillars came into view. Akirame and Riku were instantly in awe. The island library was minuscule compared to this. "Wow." Sora said, summing up their thoughts.   
  
"Well, I don't think we'll have to worry much about limited resources, eh?" Erik joked.   
  
"Guess not." Riku replied.  
  
"Well, I'm going to wait for you back at the hotel." Vanna said.  
  
"Okay, see you then."  
  
The group walked up the many flights of stairs to reach the entrance. They filed into the well-lit building, quickly adjusting to the cool air. The building was seemingly old, the marble floors showing some sign of wear. Riku instantly made a beeline for the information desk. An old woman sat in chair behind the desk, reading an old novel. "Excuse me." Riku spoke, getting her attention.  
  
"What do you want?!" The woman quickly snapped.  
  
Riku drew back a step, startled by her angry response. "I-uh...I'm looking for someone..." he stammered.  
  
"Yeah, like who?" The woman nasally shot back.  
  
"Cloud Strife?"   
  
The woman's face paled and her attitude immediately changed. "Oh my goodness, I apologize. Mr. Strife is waiting for you at the study tables in the history section, over to your left and up the stairs, on the second floor." She directed, pointing over to a set of wooden stairs.  
  
Riku nodded and headed over, a little confused by the woman's response to Cloud's name. "I wonder what the big deal with Cloud is." Irvine whispered into Jerdania's ear, getting a shrug.  
  
"I don't think it would take much more than a stare from someone like Cloud to scare people up." Erik said, gazing at all the tall shelves of books filling the second floor.   
  
After a while of looking around, they finally came upon the study tables, one of them completely covered with a massive barricade of books.   
  
"Woah!" Irvine whistled, "hehe, Cloud tends to overdo it a bit no?"  
  
Suddenly they heard a faint mumbling. As they approached the table, the mumbling grew louder. They recognized the somewhat hoarse and very tired voice. Stepping around the corner, they saw Cloud furiously flipping through one of the many books, and even from a distance the group could tell he had been studying for a while. His hair was disheveled, and the faint rings under his eyes reminded Akira of her mother the night her father...  
  
A sudden hand on her shoulder quickly cut off her thoughts. She looked up and saw the concerned look on Erik's face. She shook her head and he shrugged in return.   
  
"Well kids, I've spent the past thirteen hours researching the library and I think I've come across a couple things." Cloud said, picking up the oldest looking tome up by its ancient and dust-covered binding.  
  
Jerdania quickly eyed the book's title. "The SOLDIER? I've read that before, it's the biography of Sephiroth, isn't it?" She quickly asked.   
  
Cloud nodded. "This book is based on a diversity of various journals that historians found and has been compiled together. The book rumors about what happened after his disappearance, up until the point where the reported sightings started to occur. There was a ten year lapse, and no one knows what he was doing during that time." He explained, as he browsed through the pages confirming what he was telling the kids.  
  
"Doesn't the book say something about a lost journal, one that he wrote during that time?" Jerdania inquired.  
  
"Yes, and I've been researching the books, trying to figure out the different suggestions given, and I believe I may have come across something." Cloud flipped to a page in a different book and laid it on top of the piled charts and manuscripts, waiting for the group to circle around him.  
  
"This book contains a collection of Cetra legends and prophecies, closely translated from old hieroglyphics found in the ruins of the Temple of the Ancients. This legend here is only partially translated, since the rest of the story was missing from the ruins."  
  
"Woah, what do ya mean, 'missing'" Irvine asked.  
  
"Either the rest of the story was never written, or someone stole the slab holding the hieroglyphics."   
  
"Why would someone want to steal a rock with a bunch of doodles on it?" Sora asked.  
  
"Who knows. But from what is still written, we are told the legend of Itami."   
  
There it was again. Itami...what was the big deal? The sounds of his questioning companions were no longer heard, his psyche only acknowledged Cloud's voice. Something inside him said that his very life could possibly depend on this story. He knew he had to engrave it, not only in his mind, but in his heart too.  
  
"Roughly translated, the legend tells of two people, brother and sister, both with different fathers, born of a great Summoner. One, quote, 'has eyes but does not use them to see the present' and the other 'is fated to save the world from transgression'."  
  
"Transgression?" Sora asked, looking skeptical.  
  
"It was the closest they could translate it to. To put it bluntly it means wrongdoing... in your daily speech, evil."   
  
"Continuing on, the legend goes on to describe 'the meeting of...Jenova and Golem...' and their attempt to 'raise their love of old'."  
  
"Okay, that doesn't really sound right. What is Golem?" Kairi asked, joining the skeptical Sora.  
  
"Like I said, close translation, not exact. Stop arguing with the book!" Cloud testily said.   
  
Sora withdrew, but kept his arms crossed. Cloud continued. "Unfortunately, the rest of it is missing."  
  
"That's it?!"   
  
"Sora, shut up!" Riku quickly said, turning to stare down the brunette.  
  
Sora bit his tongue and backed off. "So...what does this have to do with us?" Irvine asked.  
  
"Well, the only Jenova I knew of was a terrible... something, like a monster, that Sephiroth kept calling his 'mother'. So I am assuming that Sephiroth may be involved. Why else would he be alive?" Cloud asked them.  
  
Irvine cleared his throat and asked the question again. "What does this have to do with us?"   
  
Cloud flipped to a different page in the ancient book of legends and pointed to a sketch of some strange symbols. "The legend concerning these symbols says that 'a man marked will find his match, following a legend half-known."   
  
The heads all turned to Riku, who looked down at the symbols. "How do you know it's just not some guy with a tattoo? Those symbols don't match the ones on Riku's hand." Sora tested once again.  
  
Riku ignored the argument between Cloud and Sora, and read the page on the book to himself. "With no memory, a man marked will find his match, following a legend half-known. Destined to save, destined to destroy, a born leader will save the future from the past."  
  
"What could it mean?"  
  
**"Listen, Riku. It speaks of you. Look at those symbols and remember them. They will lead you."***  
  
Riku opened his hand and placed it palm-up beside the sketch. "I know it's me because we already have half the answer to the riddle." He said, turning the book upside down.   
  
He tilted his head slightly, pushed a few strands of his silvery hair away from his face and placed his palm once again by the sketch. He could feel some sweat forming in his brow, his heartbeat rising steadily. Inwardly he hoped that he was wrong, but he wasn't. Half the symbols matched the ones on his hand perfectly. 


	12. A Filler Chapter But you STILL have to r...

Disclaimer: I don't own...um....I don't own John Travolta....or Kingdom Hearts....I bought a copy of the game at Wal-mart, which I also do not own...but one day...I'LL RULE THE WORLD!!!!  
  
CHAPTER 12: A Filler Chapter   
  
Cloud and Sora turned from each other to look at Riku's find. "Told you so." Cloud said, puffing himself up.  
  
"...we already have half the answer to the riddle." Riku said.  
  
"Now what do we do?" Erik asked, looking up at Cloud.  
  
"Well, according to the legend, we obviously have to find your match, someone with the same symbols as yours." Cloud summed up.  
  
"But...wait, why did you bring up two entirely different legends?" Sora stabbed.  
  
"Because I found the man marked, and I know who Jenova is. They have to be connected somehow. Besides, the man marked is destined to save, and Jenova did nothing but destroy." Cloud defended.  
  
Riku had begun to flip through the book, scouring the pages until he came upon an old photo. "Look, the same symbols are in the other legend." He quietly announced.  
  
"Let me see...woah, that's in Cosmo Canyon, where Nanaki lives." Cloud said, studying the picture.  
  
"Who? I've heard of Cosmo Canyon before, but..." Jerdania started to say.  
  
"Nanaki, otherwise known as Red XIII, was a friend of mine, who helped me to stop Sephiroth. He retired afterward to his place of origin to study the wisdom of the Ancients."   
  
"How weird, he has the same name as you, Red-no-number." Kairi teased the hybrid.  
  
"I highly doubt we're related." He said with his faint Scottish accent.  
  
So far Akirame was the only one who had remained silent. She glanced from the book up to Riku's face. His gaze was inward, and he almost seemed to be listening to something other than all the voices around him. Suddenly his attention averted from the book up to Akira's gaze. "The voice?" Akira mouthed, pointing to her head.  
  
Riku silently nodded. Akira looked away, unnerved by all that was happening. Was her best friend destined to save the world? She glanced back at him for a moment, and, for that one moment, she realized just how little she knew the boy she had grown up with. "So, what do we do now?" Riku asked.  
  
Cloud picked up the book and looked at them gravely. "You're going to Cosmo Canyon to consult Nanaki on the symbols."   
  
"You're not coming with us?"   
  
"No."  
  
"Why not?"  
  
"This is your legend, I have fulfilled mine. I am but an informer to get you on your way."   
  
Riku did not object to Cloud's reasoning, despite the group's evident discomfort. "So, when should we leave?"  
  
"As soon as possible. First, let me see your weapons."   
  
As instructed, the group obediently laid out their weapons on the table for him to see. Cloud grimaced at the sight, although he approved of Erik's top-notch whip. "You got something against our weapons?" Sora challenged.   
  
"Sora, shut up." Riku said.  
  
"You'll never survive the way to Cosmo Canyon with pitiful weapons like that. I guess I'll take you to the weapons shop and get these...things remodeled." Cloud sighed, walking towards the stairs.  
  
Sora defiantly shouldered his shield and followed the others down the stairs.  
  
The walk to the local weapon store was full of much talk and planning. Irvine and Erik went ballistic when they entered the large store, quickly looking at all the various weapons available. Cloud walked over to a counter and talked to the man behind it who was polishing an impressive sword. "Huh? Sure, I can remodel anything. Lemme see what you got."   
  
Cloud nodded his head at the others, who came forward and began to lay their weapons on the glass display counter. The man raised his eyebrows and surveyed the ensemble, lifting and examining each one. "We got your basic battle gloves, a crossbow, a sword, daggers, a shotgun, a shield, a very impressive whip, and...hey buddy, don't you have anything for me to remodel?"   
  
Red looked up at the man and his eyes flashed. "Dragons don't need weapons."   
  
"Okay, sure thing buddy. While I remodel your weapons, maybe you'd like to look in the armor section over there."   
  
The group listened to his suggestion and began to look through the various racks of equipment. Erik instantly led Akira towards a rack of... "Jewelry? What am I going to do with jewelry?"  
  
"Hey...this ain't ordinary jewelry. Let's see...if I remember correctly, crossbows correspond with...here we go. Necklaces. Now...what would work best for you..."   
  
Erik looked through the various display cases holding various chokers, some of them delicate, others vicious-looking. At last Erik came upon the "perfect choker", a 1 1/2 inch-wide black choker that was dotted with various rhinestone-sized materia. "This thing oughta protect you from everything." He declared, waiting while a store worker opened the display case and handed it to them.   
  
Erik had Akira turn around and hold her hair up while he wrapped the ribbon-like choker around her neck and laced up the back for her. "There ya go."  
  
Akira let her hair back down and turned to look at him. "What do you think?" She asked, trying to get used to the feel of it.  
  
Erik looked at her for a moment and smiled. There was something about this girl, something incredibly familiar, bringing out feelings in him he didn't understand. This feeling, like, like he wanted to protect her. That was it, he felt incredibly protective of the girl. And at the same time, he wanted to her to be able to rely on him, to turn to him for advice, to be her closest friend...was it love? He snapped back to reality and noticed that she now had her head tilted to the side, an adorable smile on her face. He adored her. "You look adorable."   
  
"Thank you." She quickly hugged him and ran to see what Riku was looking at.   
  
Erik watched as she happily joined Riku, who was checking out various sashes. Erik could easily see from the way Riku acted, and the way the older boy's cerulean eyes lit up that the group's leader had deep affections for the girl. Erik chewed on his lip for a moment, just like Akira would, confronting feelings within himself. He felt like grabbing Akira and keeping her all to himself. He laughed, then thought to himself, "So this must be what jealousy feels like."  
  
Once the group had shelled out a good deal of money on equipment and picked up their improved weapons, Cloud led them toward a store to buy supplies for their upcoming trip to Cosmo Canyon, which, much to the group's delight, would involve a good deal of camping and walking on foot. "Finally, a real adventure." Irvine said, carrying out a satchel of newly bought supplies.   
  
"No kidding. We've done nothing but get lectured and wait so far." Jerdania agreed.   
  
"So, um...why exactly did you buy those groceries anyway?"   
  
"Just wait until we're out there in the wild, sleeping under the stars. I'll show you what a real cook-out is."   
  
"All right! Jerdania's cooking!" Kairi excitedly said, swinging an arm around her now closest friend.   
  
"You cook? You never told me that." Irvine said, looking down at her with a raised eyebrow.   
  
"That's the only reason why we agreed that she could come along. She's the only one in the group I trust to not poison us," Riku said, now walking out of the store followed by Erik and Akira.   
  
"Oh...really. Jerdania said she was invited for other reasons."   
  
Jerdania gave a nervous smile. "Well...uh...hehe...tonight I'm making dinner!"   
  
"Works for me." Sora said, quickly walking up beside Kairi.  
  
"You guys done now?" Cloud asked, turning from a conversation with Red.   
  
"Yep. Just tell us what to do and we'll do it."  
  
"Good. Now, after you guys are done at the motel, you'll take a four-day Chocobo ride to Winhill, where you'll meet up with a man named Laguna Loire. If you can't find him, just ask around for Ellone. Tell them Cloud Strife in Transverse Town sent you. Give them this." He handed a manila envelope to Riku, who carefully put it in his backpack.   
  
"And then?" Riku inquired, aware that everyone was getting impatient to go.  
  
"Just leave it to Laguna."   
  
"All right then. Let's go." 


	13. Induced Sleep

Disclaimer: I don't own London, don't own France, and these are not my *censored* huh?  
  
Chapter 13: Angst  
  
Akirame felt tired after the long day's chocobo ride. It was finally the end of the third day, and Akira watched the sky slowly turning orange from her saddle, not minding when her newly assigned partner, Erik, leaned slightly against her and sighed. Riku and Irvine finally led the group of weary chocobos and their riders to a halt at the remains of an old campsite in the middle of a wide, hilly plain, closely bordered on the left by a thick forest which they would soon have to face.  
  
"Okay guys, this looks like a good place to stop and rest." Riku announced, much to his companion's relief.   
  
Slowly the group climbed off the yellow birds and began to stretch their sore legs and yawn. Sora couldn't help but voice his opinion that it was Riku's turn to gather wood. "Come on Riku, I did it the last two times, it's your turn." The brunette whined.  
  
The group flinched, waiting for Riku's usual fiery comeback. Instead, Riku shrugged. Suddenly, Irvine was hit with one of his brilliant ideas. "You know what, I think tonight deserves to be a celebration." He voiced, looking to the others.  
  
"What's to celebrate?" Sora skeptically asked. So far Sora had been the only one who hadn't learned how to properly ride a chocobo, leaving him with blisters on nearly every square inch of his lower body, as well as his attitude.  
  
"Well, tomorrow is the day we finally reach Cosmo Canyon!" Irvine happily replied, trying to get back the same enthusiasm.  
  
"And?"  
  
"And, well...we could certainly afford to loosen up a bit, tell stories, and Jerdania hasn't had a real chance to lay on her cooking."  
  
"Hyne, I'd do anything right now for some of Jer's party brew." Kairi said, licking her lips.  
  
"So, how 'bout it Riku, can we have some fun tonight?"  
  
"Yeah, please?"  
  
"Please Riku?"  
  
Riku sighed and rolled his eyes. "Are you gonna need a bonfire?"  
  
"Woohoo! Par-tay!"   
  
"Come on Irvine, let's go get that wood."  
  
"Why me?"  
  
"Because it was your idea."  
  
The two mounted their chocobo, taking along an extra one to carry the wood. The trees spread their lofty branches overhead, creating a ceiling that completely shrouded out the light. Riku reached into the satchel the extra chocobo was carrying and pulled out a glass lantern, and with a light tap, a bright light appeared within it, lighting the area.   
  
The two boys went on, collecting small bunches of tinder, batches of sticks and a good number of logs. When they had gathered as much as they thought they would need, they loaded the wood onto the extra chocobo and headed out of the forest, disappointed when the flies descended back into the bushes when they exited the thick forest and back into the open plain.   
  
It was much darker now, and the two boys rushed back to the campsite, which by now had been diligently set up. Riku frowned when he remembered that there were only two tents. He'd have to spend the night outside, mostly because he needed to help keep watch, and also because it was his turn. Looking up, Riku was grateful for the clear sky, knowing that tonight the weather would be warm again, and that he might have the help of the full moon.   
  
Sora immediately set up the wood and quickly started the bonfire while Jerdania all sorts of ingredients and a large cooler and began to make a batch of punch. The others gathered together around the quickly growing fire and began to happily chat and tell jokes, waiting mostly for Jerdania to finish. Irvine sneaked behind the group and went over to where she had already laid out several cups, and was getting ready to start pouring the sweet smelling concoction. "Psst...Jer!" he whispered into her ear.  
  
"What?"  
  
"I got this great idea for a joke we could play on Riku and Akira!"   
  
"What? Why would we want to do that?"  
  
"Face it. Riku needs to lighten up, and those two should really get together. They're perfect."  
  
"But....what about Erik? Erik said he liked Akira too, you know."  
  
"Yeah...but Erik doesn't really...I dunno. I think it's Riku that should have Akira."   
  
"Well....what are we going to do to them?"  
  
"Just drug them both, put a couple pinches of sleep powder in their drinks, and I'll serve them up!"   
  
Jerdania raised her eyebrow for a moment, trying to decide what to think. "And then what will we do when they're unconscious?"  
  
"Just leave that to me. Now, hurry before they notice!"  
  
Jerdania rolled her eyes and pulled a large plastic container out of her backpack and carefully opened it. Irvine eagerly took a spoon laying nearby and carefully spooned small amounts of the yellow contents into two of the cups, and mixed it with the punch. "There, that oughta do it. When they're K.O.'d, I'll explain the rest."   
  
With that Irvine cheerfully took the two cups over to his victims, who sat next to each other, talking quietly about something, unlike the rest of the group, which was getting rambunctious. "Here ya go. Enjoy!"   
  
Riku and Akira took the cups without the slightest hesitation, and sipped the drinks. Riku then took a large gulp, enjoying how the punch fizzed in his mouth, slightly noticing how the drink seemed intoxicating.   
  
From the other side of the fire, Irvine had taken a hot dog and had began roasting it over the fire on the end of a stick, stealing glimpses of his unsuspecting friends quickly downing their punch. "Five...four...three...two.." Irvine mentally counted down, and as if on cue, the two were now effectively feeling the effects of the powder.   
  
"Hey, you look kinda tired there, Riku" Irvine said, now walking over to them.   
  
"Yeah...just a little." Riku could barely keep his eyes open, and Akira was now leaning against him.  
  
"Why don't you two lay down for a bit? There's a sleeping bag right over there." Irvine eagerly offered.  
  
"Yeah, that sounds great." Irvine had to half-carry Riku over to the sleeping bag, which lay close to the fire, and lay Riku on top of it.   
  
Meanwhile, Akira had started swaying back and forth, and lost her balance on the log, falling over backwards and out of sight. The other members of the group heard the "Oof!" followed by light snoring.   
  
"Woah, what happened here?" Kairi said, rushing to her friend's side.   
  
"I drugged her and Riku." Irvine proudly said, starting to scoop up the sleeping log.   
  
"What? Why'd you do that?!" Sora quickly challenged.  
  
"For a prank, no duh."   
  
"What are we going to do to them?" Erik asked, a little hesitant, his mind quickly putting things together.  
  
"Well," Irvine began, quickly laying Akira on the wide sleeping bag next to Riku, "I always figured these two were meant to be together."   
  
"Oh, come on Irvine, don't you think we've pushed that issue enough already?" Kairi said, thinking of the hundred-or-so times Irvine had tried to put them up together.  
  
"Hey, it's a win-win situation! It could either result in them gettin' together, or we might get a good laugh out of it."   
  
"Well...." Kairi began, looking at the two sleepers, who now had their backs to each other. "They do look...kinda cute together...."  
  
"Yeah, but it would look better if Riku was facing the same way..." Sora said, rolling the dead-asleep leader over.  
  
"And if Akira were closer..."  
  
"Yeah, and put his arm over her waist..."  
  
"Someone get a blanket and a pillow!"   
  
By the time they were done, Riku and Akira were carefully posed, and wrapped up under a blanket, sharing the same pillow. "So...how long does the sleeping powder last?" Sora asked.  
  
"As much as Irvine gave them, they won't be awake until tomorrow morning." Jerdania said, looking at her watch.  
  
"Man. What do we do till then?"  
  
"Party, what else?"  
  
Erik looked up at the star spangled sky. The party had ended about two hours ago, and he had decided to take over guard duty, sitting up on a hill just next to the campsite. His eyes slowly descended from star to star until they landed on Akira. He smiled as he watched her sleep peacefully beside Riku, the same feeling that overcame him in the shop some days ago was now present but he chose to ignore it.   
  
"If those two are meant to be together...there's nothing I can do." He thought for a moment about this as his eyes shifted from Akira to the other members of their group. He had developed a bond between each and everyone of them. Riku was like a brother to him, Irvine was his partner in crime. Red, who now lay in his dragon form next to the dying fire, was more like his conscience at times. Jerdania was his idol; no one could cook better than her, Kairi was to him, the best of friends, and last but not least was Sora... well at least Erik felt smart beside him. Then there was Akira, though he had created a bond with everyone in the group, with her it was something special.  
  
He remembered the thought that had crossed his mind instants before. If those two are meant to be together...there's nothing I can do. He placed his hand over his chest, dug for something inside his clothes and clutched it. He held it tightly, the small token that stood near his heart, reminder of a long, lost past that would never again be his. How come he had to loose everything in his life?  
  
He stood up and started walking from side to side as he lost himself in his thoughts.  
  
"I lost my mom...and that girl, was she my sister?"   
  
A vision of a young beautiful woman appeared before him clearly. The young woman held in her arms a girl, no more than 4 years old wrapped in blankets. She seemed to be crying, with one hand she held the girl while the other remained stretched out towards him. He could hear her desperate cries, and each one of them struck his heart with great sadness.  
  
He had seen this...vision countless times before, in his sleep, while he ate, while he trained, every time he was alone. But he was still not used to it. Quickly following the same routine he ran towards the woman trying to take both, lady and child, in his arms... but then HE appeared. From out of the blue came his so-called 'father.' The ghastly figure took Erik by the arm and kept him from advancing to the weeping woman. Erik pounded his father angrily, but his fists went right through him, he knew that it was only a mirage but he couldn't help it.  
  
"I lost them, whoever they were...and I lost HIM too."   
  
He was now standing up, still in the same place on the hill. He stood there for a moment, trying to regain his bearings. A cold breeze flew into his open vest, running its chilling fingers over his body, making him shiver. He wrapped his vest around his body, trying to regain warmth. Then he remembered, the infinite nights he had spent alone in his house as a child. He formed two fists with his hands as he started punching the air with un-sighted fury.  
  
"WHY DID YOU LEAVE ME?!?!?" His chest burned, and he felt like screaming out loud, but knew he would instantly stir each and every one of his friends if he did so. He continued throwing punches in the air until he grew tired and sat back down.  
  
"All I have is this." His hand once again found its way to his chest, and he seized the small pendant.  
  
Erik heard someone stirring nearby, and quickly let go of the memory as he looked to see who it was. Red was approaching him, his amber cat-like eyes glowing slightly. "Erik, what troubles you?"   
  
Erik sighed and shivered as night grew colder, his eyes focused on something he couldn't see. "It's Akirame."  
  
Red sat down behind the boy, Erik never looking back but still focused elsewhere. "Ah...she is quite a beauty, no?"  
  
"I don't know whether or not...I'm in love with her...I feel protective of her, but otherwise..."  
  
Red laid down, sharing his body heat with his shivering friend. "Women...they cause us to do the strangest things." Red commented, allowing Erik to lean against the dragon's side.  
  
"I just want to get this over with as soon as possible so I can find the woman and the girl."   
  
"I promised you I would help you find them, did I not?"  
  
"Yes...but why am I here with this group? What do they have to do with my vision?"  
  
"You'll see soon enough. I love you like a son, and I would not deceive you." And with that, the dragon brought his wing down around Erik and proceeded to keep watch over the slumbering teens. 


	14. Strife in the Forest

Disclaimer: uh......the number you have dialed does not own Squaresoft, FFX, FFVIII, or Kingdom Hearts....however, I do own the characters Erik, Red, Akirame...and Jerdania!!!  
  
Chapter 14: Strife in the Forest  
  
Riku ran toward the forest, pulling Akira along with him. He slowed down as they came close, and pushed aside a large fern to let her in. They stepped into a clearing, and upon entering scared a small swarm of pyreflies. The flies slowly danced about them, illuminating the clearing with a blue light. Riku glanced over at Akira, his heart racing as he saw the awe-struck look on her face as the flies flew around her. The flies then danced away, following a path through the trees and tall bushes.   
  
Riku laughed as he took Akira by the wrist and chased after the fairy-like lights. The path led them down to a pool of water completely hedged in by the redwood trees and ferns taller than themselves. The room formed by the plants was illuminated by a light that seemed to come from the water. Moon Lilies floated gracefully above the water, glowing in shades of pink, purple, blue and white. Akira gasped at the unearthly beauty, watching as the pyreflies danced over the surface of the water. Riku smiled and bent down to pick one of the flowers, and handed it to her.   
  
"Akira...I...I...lo---" He was unable to finish as the flower he had handed her dimmed, then began to wilt and dry up, turning into a pile of dust that flew out of her hand.   
  
Akira's face was stained with tears as she began to run away, leaving him alone in a place that quickly lost its beauty.  
  
Riku drifted out of his dream, somewhat aware of a warm body close to his. A breeze blew over him, and the body next to his shivered and rolled over, snuggling as close to him as humanly possible. Riku's well-hidden nurturing instincts kicked in and he drew the body close to him, not minding when it nuzzled his collarbone affectionately. Riku gave a sigh and lay there for a moment, allowing the world to come back into focus. Suddenly flashes from last night returned to him. The last thing he could remember was Irvine giving him those drinks, and then getting dizzy... who had crashed next to him? Riku suddenly heard what sounded like Kairi whispering "Awww, how cute."   
  
Well, it wasn't Kairi then. "Irvine, what would you like your tombstone to say?" Jerdania....  
  
Judging by the softness of the body, it definitely wasn't one of the guys...Riku stiffened, afraid to move, for fear of waking the slumbering body next to him. Over a hundred painful forms of death crossed his mind. The body next to him stirred again, evidently about to try and sit up. "Oh man...what am I gonna do, what am I gonna do?!" Riku did the only thing he could think of. He sat up before Akira did, trying to pretend he didn't notice she was there.   
  
"Huh? What am I doing outside...in a sleeping bag?" Akira began to question, her head turning to look at the yawning boy next to her. "Riku?"  
  
"Huh?" Riku turned to look at her, trying to look puzzled. "What?"  
  
"Riku, what am I doing out here with you?" She asked him, her voice now stern.  
  
"I have no idea."  
  
Akira stood up and offered a hand to help him up. "Well, so far so good." Riku thought to himself, grateful that Irvine had left them fully clothed. Who knew just how far Irvine could and would go for a joke? Riku still held Akira's hand to help her keep her balance as she bent down to remove one of her boots.   
  
"You need help with the other one?" Riku asked, figuring she was getting a rock out.   
  
"Nah, I only need one." Akira said, now letting go of his hand.   
  
Riku stood there for a moment, looking at Akira, who stood there holding the boot in her hand, brandishing it like a boomerang. "Run Riku!" Sora suddenly shouted, getting his friend's attention.  
  
"Don't kill him Akira!" Irvine suddenly yelled, stepping forward.  
  
"Why not?! Riku has finally gone far enough!" Akira growled, getting ready for a direct kill.  
  
Riku suddenly found his feet and started to run. "I didn't do it, Akira!" He pleaded, sensing that she had released the laser-guided missile that was her boot.   
  
Fortunately, Riku tripped over a stub of grass, and the boot overshot his head and landed a few feet away from him. "Wow. That was close." He mused as he picked up the boot and pushed himself off the ground.   
  
Bad decision. The group grimaced as they watched Riku drop to the ground after being hit in the forehead by Akira's other boot. "Man, who knew she had such a great throwing arm?" Irvine said, shielding his eyes from the sun.   
  
"Anyone who plays dodgeball as much as Akira would have a great throwing arm." Kairi said, her arms crossed.  
  
"So, uh...we just gonna leave him there?" Sora asked, scratching his back.  
  
"Nah. I wanna get him before the monsters do." Akira said, stomping off in her socks toward the unconscious heap.   
  
Akira quickly approached Riku, who was now trying to sit up and was rubbing his forehead where the boot had hit. "Man, you throw really hard." He said, allowing her to help him to his feet. "And I'm telling you, I didn't plan last night."  
  
"Then why did I wake up laying next to you like that?"  
  
"How am I supposed to know..." Riku's voice faded off and the two looked at each other.   
  
"IRVINE!" They both shouted, looking toward the campsite.   
  
Irvine heard the angry call and he hastened as he quickly stuffed everything into his backpack and slung it over his shoulder, apparently intent upon escaping alive. He had just begun to mount one of the chocobos when the two angry teens caught up to him and tackled him to the ground. "Please don't hurt me!" He cried, covering his face from their wrath.  
  
Akirame and Riku took no heed of his desperate request. Instead, they were thoroughly ruffling him, searching for his ticklish spot. "Ha! I'm not ticklish!" Irvine proudly boasted, now crossing his arms.   
  
"Yes you are." Jerdania said, running over to join them. "Right here!" She quickly took off one of his boots and laughed as Irvine began to squirm.   
  
Erik stood at a distance from the group, next to Red, who sat cat-like in his regal dragon form. "The next part of the journey is going to be hard for you." Red stated, remaining motionless.  
  
"It's only for a few days."  
  
"Memories can torture the mind if given the chance. You need to let go of your memories."  
  
Erik sighed and sat down, thinking about what Red had said. For so long...  
  
"Hey Erik, hey Red! Aren't you gonna help us kill Irvine and hide his body?" Sora asked, now approaching them.   
  
Erik looked up and tried his best to put on a fake smile. Thankfully, Sora was dense and couldn't read people well. "Nah, I'm gonna finish cleaning up the site."   
  
"Okay, well...man that is so cool." Sora always got a kick out of Red's morphing into a different form.   
  
Red, now human, rolled his eyes and stood up. "Most people would have gotten used to it by now."   
  
"Not me!"   
  
Erik and Red sighed and walked toward whatever mess was left and began to pack it away. Meanwhile, Irvine was now laying on his back, pinned down by Riku and Akira while Jerdania began to...lick between his toes? Kairi grimaced, and Sora was, as usual, pretty confused by the sight. Either way, Irvine was in hysterics from the cruel and unusual punishment he was undergoing. "Uh...guys...we had really be going now. It's still another five hours or so until we reach Winhill, and the forest is a nightmare at evening." Erik said, now finished.  
  
"Let me go, PLEASE!" Irvine screamed, twisting and wriggling.  
  
"Erik's right, Riku. Let's go ahead and let him go."   
  
Riku shrugged and got up, releasing Irvine. "Thank you, Hyne!" Irvine graciously said, trying to get to his feet.  
  
"When do we eat?" Sora quietly asked, noticing how everything was already packed, including Jerdania's cooking ware.  
  
Riku quickly assembled everyone together. "So, do you guys think we should change partners, or stick with the ones we got?"  
  
"When do we eat?" Sora asked again, this time a little louder and more annoying.   
  
The group mumbled something about not caring, and Riku shrugged. "Well, if that's the way you want it. Come on, let's saddle up and set out."  
  
With that the group rather unceremoniously loaded their gear and mounted the yellow birds. Within minutes they were already entering the forest.   
  
"When do we eat?" Sora loudly asked, making Riku cringe.  
  
"Just dig in your pack and get one of your granola bars out."   
  
"I ate them all."  
  
Riku turned in his saddle to look back at the whining brunette. "You ate them all?! Those were supposed to last the whole week!"  
  
"I was hungry!"  
  
Riku now pulled the bird back so he was facing Sora, who was riding with Jerdania. "Hungry enough to eat 26 granola bars in one night?"  
  
"Hey! I can't help it if I've got a big appetite!"  
  
Riku rolled his eyes and rode back to the front of the group.   
  
"I'm still hungry!" Sora shouted, and was hit in the head by an apple. "OWCH! Hey...woo-hoo! It's food!"  
  
The grouped sighed and tried to ignore the ravenous youth. "Man, I just hope your eating doesn't attract any monsters." Jerdania said, keeping an eye out.   
  
"I doubt it. This forest is pretty tame." Erik commented.   
  
"You've been here before?" Riku asked, looking over at him.  
  
"Once or twice. Camping trips." Erik was beginning to look uncomfortable.   
  
"Don't wanna talk about it?"   
  
"Not really."   
  
"Hmm."   
  
Akira heard Erik sigh and felt him shift in the saddle. "You okay?" she quietly asked over her shoulder, wishing she could see him.  
  
"I'm fine, I just...have a history, that's all."  
  
Akira bit her lip and turned her attention back to steering the chocobo. The forest was beautiful in its own right, a thickly ingrown deciduous forest, brightly lit in patches where the leaves of overlapping branches didn't block out the sun. The only sound was the sound of a river somewhere nearby and various birds. "So, this is all we're gonna see for the next five hours?"  
  
"Sora, I thought you were eating."   
  
"I finished."  
  
"I gave you that apple about thirty seconds ago!"   
  
"I told you I was hungry."  
  
"Please don't tell me he's going to talk through this entire trip!" Jerdania pleaded.  
  
"You got a problem with me talking?" Sora challenged, pointing a thumb at himself.   
  
"No, just you complaining." Irvine said, twisting around to look at him.  
  
"Why's everybody picking on me?"  
  
The group tried their hardest to hold back their laughter as Sora began to mope.   
  
Suddenly, without warning, Riku halted. The group fell silent and stopped behind him. The suddenly grew tense as they watched Riku listen, and the entire forest seemed to fall silent. Not a single sound was made as Riku's hand moved towards his sword, and the rest of the group began to reach for theirs....  
  
A small green object flew into the middle of the group and landed in Sora's hand. "Huh? What's this?" he said, looking at it.  
  
"Sora! It's a gernade! Hurry, throw it back!" Erik screamed, unable to tell if it was live or not.  
  
Sora, in his blind panic, threw the gernade as hard as he could, sending it straight up into the air where it burst into yellow smoke. "Oh man! It's a smoke gernade! Hurry and cover your mouth!" Irvine shouted, bringing his shirt up over his face.   
  
The others quickly took action as the smoke descended and shrouded them in a noxious yellow fog. Riku quickly unsheathed his sword and tried to see as his eyes started to water.   
  
Erik and Irvine were suddenly grateful for the hours of training that their instructors had put them through, for they already knew what to expect.   
  
The first attacker lunged from the right, where it was met by a powerful blow from Erik's fist. The hyena flew back into a tree and fell to the ground unmoving. "Red! Do something about the smoke!" Erik hastily shouted, blinking as his eyes filled with tears from the smoke.   
  
Red quickly jumped off his Chocobo and tried to quickly morph, only able to get his wings unfurled from his body, leaving the rest in human form as he was attacked from behind by another one of the hyenas. Irvine quickly took action, shooting the beast squarely in the head.   
  
Red pushed himself up, letting the dead animal slide off his back. Deciding not to risk another ambush attack, Red quickly spread his wings and made quick, powerful strokes, clearing away the thick fog, then furled them away.   
  
Once the fog was cleared, the group got their weapons ready as their enemies emerged; a group of bandits with two more hyenas for them to contend with. "Oy! There's more of them then he told us, mates!" The apparent leader of the gang, a tall, burly man with an earring, shouted to his friends in an English accent.   
  
"Now wot, Skyzer?" one of the other bandits asked, looking panicked.   
  
Skyzer, the leader, quickly put two fingers in his mouth and made an ear-piercing whistle, causing several bandits to leap out of the woods and make one last attempt at attacking them.   
  
Kairi and Jerdania did an excellent job of defending themselves, Kairi making a sharp blow to a skinny man that tried to hit her with a club, breaking his nose. Jerdania steered her chocobo around and dashed past a tall, thickly built, bald bandit, using one of her daggers to quickly sever the suspenders holding up his large pants as she passed by. The man, still trying to figure out what had happened, tried to run after her when his pants quickly fell around his ankles, causing him to trip and fall face first to the ground.   
  
Just when the group thought they had taken out all of the bandits, Skyzer, the leader, made a quick and hasty move while the rest of his group was still fighting/loosing. He moved around to the first occupied and weak looking person he could find and quickly lunged at her, tightly wrapping his arms over hers and pulling her off of her chocobo. "Let me go!" She screamed, thrashing and trying to kick him.   
  
"Akirame!" Riku screamed, abandoning his chocobo, ready to cut the man's head clear off his shoulders.  
  
Akirame violently kicked one of the man's legs, making him laugh. "That won't do ye any good. That leg ain't real."   
  
"Oh yeah, what about this one?" Akira growled, giving a good kick to his other leg.   
  
"That..." The man wheezed, now cringing. "would be my real leg."  
  
"Ha! Come on guys, help me out here!"   
  
"That's enough." Skyzer said as Riku approached, now reaching in his pocket for something.   
  
"Don't you dare hurt her!" Riku shouted, holding his sword out to the side.   
  
The rest of the group heard his scream and followed after him, weapons drawn. The man pulled the object out and now brandished a wicked looking....stick?  
  
"The heck? That's just a stick! What are you gonna do, give her a splinter?" Irvine laughed, lowering his gun.  
  
The "stick" in Skyzer's hand suddenly shook to life, opening its eyes and mouth, revealing a pair of deadly fangs. "Eep! It's a snake?!" Kairi screamed, backing up.   
  
"Absolutely. This here snake is none other than a Camosnake! One drop of its poison could kill your little friend here twenty times over!" The man informed them, holding the snake away from Akira's face.   
  
The snake justified the man's statement as it snapped out, coming within a mere inch of her neck. "Dude, how do you know all of that?" Erik suddenly asked, winking at Irvine, who was the only one who understood what Erik was up to.  
  
"Yeah....how'd you learn all of that?" Irvine asked, hoping the others would get the drift.   
  
"Oh...I uh, I used to be a biology teacher." Skyzer said, now distracted.   
  
"Ah...when did you decide to...uh....change occupations?" Jerdania asked, making Irvine silently praise her for her quick wit.  
  
"Oh...it was for reasons that weren't even my fault! One day, I had left the classroom momentarily to get some supplies from the office..."  
  
"And?"  
  
"And one of those little 10th grade brats decided to play with the lab snake, which I had repeatedly warned them was poisonous, but none of them ever listened to me!"  
  
"Man! I agree, 16 year olds are brats." Irvine said, making Erik raise an eyebrow.  
  
"No kidding. As I was saying, the kid takes out the snake and starts teasing it, and then the snake bit the little brat! And they blamed it on me!"  
  
"For shame! You should do something about it!"  
  
"Yeah, your right...Eeeyy...I know what you're up to! Cut it out now!" Skyzer angrily said when he saw that they were moving closer.  
  
He now raised the snake even closer to Akira's face, twisting his face into a snarl.  
  
"Don't just stand there, do something!" Akira shouted, watching the snake out of the corner of her eye.  
  
"What do you want from us?" Riku barked, unwilling to see his friend harmed.  
  
"Well, you could start by showing us your hands. All of you."   
  
"What? We washed them already!" Irvine sarcastically said, pulling off his gloves with his teeth while he still held his gun.   
  
"Aye! Don't be a smart aleck!"  
  
The group quickly ungloved themselves and waited for Skyzer's next order.   
  
"Check their hands boys." Skyzer ordered.  
  
The men that were still capable of moving nodded as they quickly grabbed the ungloved hands and turned them palm up, searching for something. Riku gulped as one of the bandits took his wrists and twisted his hands so they were palm-up.  
  
The sudden sound of two jeeps and a good number of soldiers quickly caught everyone's attention. "This is the Galbadian SeeD troop 41!" A voice shouted from somewhere in the forest from a megaphone.  
  
Irvine's eyes got big. "Troop 41? I know those guys! Hey! Guys! This is Irvine Kinneas! Student number JHN15-9! Help us out here!!" Irvine shouted, trying to see where they were.  
  
"Remain calm! If you do not clear this area within the next five minutes, we will be forced to shoot!" The voice replied.  
  
"Forget that, just shoot!" Irvine yelled.  
  
"You have two minutes remaining."   
  
"Ack! What are we gonna do, Skyzer?" one of the lackey bandits asked nervously.  
  
"They're bluffing."  
  
"And I'm not!" Erik hastily reached into his pocket and pulled out a clump of black powder, which he tossed over Akira's head into Skyzer's eyes.   
  
"Ahh! Blind powder! I can't see!" The man screamed, letting go of Akira and the snake as he began to rub his eyes.  
  
Akira instantly jerked away from the man and dashed over to join her companions. "You have one minute remaining!" The megaphone shouted.   
  
Erik and Riku quickly took advantage of the situation, rushing to take down the bandits. What ensued was pure chaos, between the bandits desperately trying to escape, and the time limit growing shorter. Why weren't the soldiers doing anything?   
  
As Erik attempted to take down Skyzer with a sweep-kick, one of the two remaining hyenas attacked him, grabbing his hand and mouth at once in its giant mouth.   
  
Erik froze and looked into the animal's brightly glowing amber eyes, quickly getting the message that the animal was sending him. He knew that if he resisted, the hyena might clamp down with its massive jaws, and would be more than capable of completely mauling him.  
  
After a moment, Erik tried to inch back, and was met by the hyena's razor sharp teeth now puncturing his skin and muscle. Erik screamed in pain and his animal instincts took over as he angrily took hold of the animal's head in his free arm and with a single, sharp twist, crack. Erik looked up to see the last hyena approaching him, then freezing in its tracks. The sickening sound of the animal's neck breaking was all it took to put enough fear in the other animal to make it flee.   
  
"You have thirty seconds!" The megaphone shouted, making everyone freeze.   
  
"Let's get out of here!" One of the bandits screamed, barely escaping a sweeping blow from Riku's sword.   
  
Skyzer, still blinded, staggered around, trying to get the powder out of his eyes. In his blindness he tripped over something and landed on his face.   
  
By now, all but three of the bandits, including Skyzer, had escaped, and were now being held by their intended victims. "Hey, yo! Soldiers! You can come out now! We got everything under control!" Irvine shouted.  
  
There was some rustling from the forest, and only two people emerged, a man and a...very short woman. "Woah! I can't believe it! You guys handled them all by yourselves?" The woman exclaimed, bursting with excitement.   
  
"Mostly. Where's Erik? He's the hero."   
  
Erik shouted to them from somewhere in the forest, his voice anxious.   
  
His arm was still trapped in the animal's locked jaws, and the more he struggled to get the mouth open, the tighter the hold seemed to get. He was instantly relieved when his companions, plus two strangers and three captured bandits came to his rescue.   
  
Irvine swore when he saw the sight of Erik kneeling on the ground, his arm covered with dark red blood. "What happened?" Akira asked, quickly rushing to his side with Kairi to try and help him open the mouth.   
  
"It bit me and wouldn't let go, so I broke its neck." Erik hissed through clenched teeth as he put a massive effort into prying the jaws open.   
  
"You what?!" Irvine said, now joining the effort.   
  
"I....I broke its neck." Erik breathed, now hardly believing it himself.   
  
"Guys, the only way we're going to be able to get this ugly beast's mouth open it to hack its head off and take your buddy here to Winhill in our van." The man said, looking at Riku.   
  
Riku wordlessly stepped forward, waiting for the others to get out of the way. With a single, powerful stroke, he managed to slice through most of the animal's short neck, and had to kneel down and apply pressure to get through the bone, then the sword easily sliced through the rest.   
  
The animal's head dropped to the ground, making an incredibly gruesome sight. "Man....I can't think of a place to mount that without scaring people away." Irvine said, grimacing.   
  
The man pulled a...pillow case? Out of his jacket and pulled it up over the head and Erik's arm, tying it securely just under his elbow. "I wish we had some medical supplies around...but for now you'll just have to try and bear with us."   
  
"You guys had chocobos, right?" The woman asked, helping Erik up.   
  
"Yeah..."  
  
"Uh....I think your bandit buddies just stole them."   
  
The group looked over their shoulders to see that, indeed, the chocobos were gone. "No! Our stuff! What are we going to do without our supplies, Riku?!" Sora shouted, demanding an answer.   
  
"Sora, shut up! We have Erik to worry about!" Akirame shouted, finally fed up with Sora's behavior.   
  
"Don't worry about it. There is another group of people out here that will round them up for you. These bandits have been giving travelers some hassle for about two weeks now." The man informed them, placing strips of cloth around the wrists of the three captured bandits.   
  
"So....what about us?" Irvine asked, tapping his boot with his gun.   
  
"There's room in our van for you guys. Come on, let's go." The man offered, leading them away from the site and into the forest. A single van lay waiting for them, along with a megaphone and a tape player that was laying on the hood.   
  
"The heck? Where's all the soldiers?" Irvine asked, looking disappointed.   
  
"Oh, it's just us. Haven't you heard of the Winhill Bogus Troop?" The woman asked, picking up the equipment and opening the doors in the back.   
  
"No..."   
  
The woman sighed. "Man, and I though we were infamous. Get in, and I'll explain it to you."  
  
The group climbed into the back of the van and sat down on the two rows of seats that faced each other. The woman climbed into the cab, shoving the three bandits in as well, and opened a window so that she could talk to them as the van started up and began to drive out of the forest.   
  
"You see, about 10 years ago, we had a massive problem with thieves and whatnot taking advantage of travelers here in this forest."   
  
The group looked at each other at the mention of the name. "You've heard of him before?" The woman asked.  
  
"Yeah. We're actually on our way to meet him." Riku explained.   
  
"How cool! Anyhow, Laguna came up with this idea that instead of having to use a whole police force and deal with the cost, he could form a troop of volunteers instead, and use different methods to confuse the criminals. So basically what we do, is we flush them out, where another group of people capture them!"   
  
"Ingenious." Irvine said, soaking in the information.   
  
Erik was beginning to sway a bit, woozy from the loss of blood. "Erik, you okay?" Kairi asked, her team-medic instincts kicking in.   
  
"I feel really dizzy." He said, blinking to clear his vision.   
  
"That isn't good. Man! All my supplies were in my bag!" Kairi growled as she searched her empty pockets.   
  
"Guys, Erik isn't looking so good. How much longer will it be?" Kairi asked, checking Erik's pulse and feeling his forehead, which was now beginning to feel warm.   
  
"Only two hours, and we're going as fast as we can. Do you think you can hold it together."   
  
Kairi looked at Erik, watching as his jaw firmly set with determination. "Yeah, I think he'll make it."   
  
Akira quietly sat next to him, watching his face. How badly could that animal have hurt him? 


	15. Erik's Flesh Wounds

Disclaimer: Let's see...hmm....I own a duct tape wallet that I made all by myself, and the $15 inside it too! Back off!!! *throws a rock at the approaching IRS agent.*  
  
Chapter 15: Erik's Flesh Wounds  
  
The next two hours were tense, everyone keeping a close eye on Erik, all of them quietly cheering him on, their hearts rising when the small city of Winhill appeared in the distance.   
  
"All right, Tidus, you handle the bandits, and I'll get the boy over to the clinic." The woman quickly instructed, jumping out of the van.   
  
"Gotcha, Yuffie." Tidus responded, grabbing the bandits and pulling them out of the van.   
  
The woman opened the back door and let the teens out, careful when helping Erik climb out. "Alright, come on, let's get him over to the clinic. It's right this way."  
  
They rushed past the many Victorian-style homes, Yuffie bringing them to a stop in front of a gray-ish blue one. The only thing making it differ from the other houses was the sign hanging in one of the windows. Erik suddenly froze for a moment, studying the building. Red stepped beside him, offering him silent comfort.   
  
"Hurry in." Yuffie said, quickly walking up the steps and opening the door for Erik to step through.   
  
Erik was relieved when he saw that the waiting room was empty, except for the receptionist who sat behind a counter. "Hey there, Yuffie? Can I help you?" She asked in a sweet voice.   
  
"Yeah Kira, we've got a serious injury here." Yuffie said, motioning to Erik.  
  
"I'll get Dr. Kadowaski right away!" Kira said, taking a second look at the group before rushing away, her thick brunette hair flying behind her.  
  
Kira came rushing back down a hall followed by a woman with graying hair pulled back into a tight bun, and her glasses slid down her nose, adding to the severity of her pointed features. "Where is he?" She asked.  
  
Erik gulped as the woman approached him. "Hmm...follow me." She said, quickly turning on her high-heel shoes.   
  
The group followed her back to a small, typical check-up room, only adding onto the severe de-ja-vu that Akirame and Riku were beginning to experience. Kira walked in and quickly shooed them back out. "Don't worry! Dr. Kadowaki has gained more than enough experience with Laguna around." She assured them.   
  
The doctor led Erik over to a metal table and made him lay his arm on it. She carefully untied the pillowcase and began to slip it off, making Erik shiver as his bare skin came in contact with the cold metal surface.   
  
Dr. Kadawoki's eyes widened when she saw the hyena's severed head still latched onto the boy's arm. "What in Hyne's name! How did you manage to survive the attack?" The woman asked, looking up at his face.  
  
"I don't know how, but I managed to...break its neck."  
  
"With a weapon?"  
  
Erik only shook his head.  
  
The doctor raised an eyebrow and went over to a counter and began to search through the drawers, then pulled out what looked like a medieval torture device. "Woah? What in the world is that?!" Erik asked, backing up.   
  
"The most vicious set of pliers you will ever see." She replied, inserting the contraption into a gap in the animal's mouth.   
  
She then began to crank the animal's mouth open by turning a crank on the contraption. Slowly but surely, the mouth opened, and a searing pain began to run through Erik's hand, burning in his bones up to his shoulder. "AHHHH!" Erik let out a small scream through tightly clenched teeth as he tried to keep standing.  
  
Dr. Kadowaki quickly pulled a syringe out of her pocket and, using her teeth as she used her other hand to brace Erik's arm, she pulled off the protective cap and quickly jabbed the needle into the clenched muscles in his shoulder. "Just hang in there, it'll take it a moment to start working." She said, tossing the needle aside and quickly grabbing him a chair to sit on.   
  
Erik, his head dizzy and fogged w/ the searing pain, sat down and rested his head on the edge of the metal table, trying to outlast the waves of nauseous heat now building up in his mind. Suddenly, he felt a tingling numbness overtaking his arm, starting in his shoulder, and now gently moving through his veins, cutting off his brain from feeling any pain. "Unnhhh...so groggy." Erik mumbled, closing his eyes and listening to the sound of the doctor walking around in the room.  
  
"Yeah, anesthetics will do that." The doctor told him, quickly calling in the nurse.   
  
Kira came rushing in, her hair flying behind her. "Yes Doctor?"   
  
"I need you to help me out by making sure the boy here doesn't fall on the floor."   
  
"Yes, Doctor." Kira quickly pulled Erik upright and held his shoulders as he started to slump.   
  
Dr. Kadowaki then resumed using the pliers to force the locked jaws of the head open, and the boy's hand was finally free from its gruesome prison. "Okay, you can take your hand out now." Kira said, helping him by slowly withdrawing his hand.   
  
Well...it had been a proper hand at one time. Now it resembled a piece of swiss cheese, several neatly punched holed oozing blood and puss covering his hand in a sickening crust.   
  
"Ugh. Is this your weapon hand?" Dr. Kadowaki asked him, a note of something in her voice.   
  
"No. I do everything with my left hand." He informed her.   
  
The doctor, grateful that he was entirely numb and unable to absorb what she was telling him, quickly pulled out a sterile towel and placed his hand on top of it as Kira scurried about, pulling out various things from different cabinets. "I think I just might be able to salvage it, but even so, your hand is never going to look the same again."   
  
Erik sighed and looked away, already having resigned himself to this fate when he had felt that....inhuman surge of power and anger at seeing that look of hate in the beast's eyes.   
  
Something about that look had brought back bitter anger from his past. It had driven him, causing his mind telling him to stop cowering and to fight back, even though his fragile heart was screaming for him to submit.  
  
Erik closed his eyes and allowed the numbness to finally creep into his mind, and felt his eyelids close.   
  
"What do you want?!" The man cruelly snarled, slightly wavering in his drunken state.   
  
"I want you to stop wasting all your money on beer!" The child's voice stuttered out.  
  
"Oh yeah? Why do you think I should stop?"   
  
"B-because, you always come home late, and you're mean!"  
  
"Heh. So you can't handle me, eh? You just gonna be a sissy and ask me to stop?"  
  
"I-I-please.....please just stop." The little boy's voice faltered.  
  
"You little Chicken Wuss." The man quickly grabbed the boy's shirt collar and lifted him off the ground, his bloodshot, coffee-colored eyes wandered slightly as he lifted the boy's face close to his own.   
  
The boy tried to not scream in fear as the smell of stale alcohol washed over him from the man's unshaven face. "You want me to stop? Then try being a man for once. Grow up and stop me yourself."  
  
The man dropped the boy and stepped over him as he stomped out of the room with a slight stagger.   
  
"Erik?.....Erik!...Get up!" The man's voice seemed to call from a distance, the sound changing.  
  
"No!"   
  
"Come on, get up already!" The voice wasn't the man's anymore, it was someone else...  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"Erik, get your lazy butt up already! You've been asleep for nearly a whole day!"   
  
Erik opened his eyes and squinted. He was laying out on a stretcher in a strange room. He shook his head to clear his mind, and then remembered where he was. Akirame, Riku, Red and Irvine were in the small clinic room with him. "Huh?" Erik lifted his hand, which was now covered in a light gauze bandage, which he noticed had been signed by his friends. "You coulda asked first." He sleepily commented, stretching and trying to sit up, getting hit in the face by the dirt-orange shirt that Irvine threw at him. Erik quickly slipped on the shirt and swung his legs over the side of the stretcher, letting his long legs dangle for a moment.  
  
Sora and Kairi came running in through the hall, Tidus calmly stepping in after them, Yuffie at his side. "Alright! He's awake! How ya feeling Erik?" Sora asked, folding his arms behind his head.   
  
"Just a little confused."  
  
"Man, that Dr. Kadowaki is something else! She fixed your hand in only two hours! I'd hate to see the bill." Irvine said, quickly sitting down next to his friend.  
  
Erik looked at Irvine's broad grin and smiled, letting the cowboy's cheerful attitude sweep away the bitter memories of his dream. Anything to numb the pain.   
  
"Hey guys, we got great news! We managed to catch those son-of-a-baka bandits, and we got all your stuff back!" Yuffie shouted, placing her fists on her tiny hips and throwing her head back.  
  
"Aw, cut it out 'Fi." Tidus said, making Yuffie put away her super-hero attitude for a more business-like stance.   
  
"Right. Thanks to the skills of Dr. Kadowaki, Erik will be able to take off his bandages within two days! Until then, he has to stay here so Dr. Kadowaki can keep poking at his hand to make sure it heals."   
  
"Great. So, when do we get our stuff back?" Riku said, getting up from where he was crouched on the floor next to his blonde friend.   
  
"You can right now! You just gotta come back with us to the Station and fill out some waivers and what-not." Yuffie informed them, punching the air.   
  
"Alright! My precious candy bars! I'm coming for you!" Sora cried, matching Yuffie's exuberance.   
  
"Uh...hehe...those candy bars were yours?" Yuffie asked, scratching her head and looking sheepish.  
  
"Yeah...why?"  
  
"Uhmmm....hehe...I thought those were....uh...evidence...umm..."  
  
Tidus rolled his eyes as Yuffie continued to falter. "She ate your candy, kid."   
  
Sora stood there for a moment, thinking it over. "All of it?"  
  
Yuffie reached into her pocket and pulled out a wrapper holding half a chocolate bar. "Uhmm....not all of it."  
  
Sora sighed and took the half-eaten candy. "Well.....I guess it's no big deal. I can always get more."  
  
Yuffie gave a deep sigh and a nervous smile. "So, let's go and get your stuff, then."   
  
Riku nodded and carefully helped Erik up, making sure he had slept off the effects of the anesthetic. "Uhh...where's Jerdania?" Erik asked, suddenly noticing her absence.   
  
Tidus gave a small chuckle and shook his head. "She's over at the station beating up the bandits for answers. She's actually responsible for capturing most of them. You should have seen her chasing them down! It was like some sort of blitzball play!"   
  
As the group started to leave the building, the nurse came running down the hall after them. "Wait! Erik!" the brunette streak shouted, quickly getting their attention. "Before you leave, you're going to want to take this." She handed Erik a white, unlabeled bottle, pausing to throw her messy braid over her shoulder.   
  
Erik shook it and heard the contents rattling inside. "What is it?"  
  
"Heavy-duty painkillers. Sooner or later the numbness will wear off, and because off all the damage done to your hand, you're gonna need them. Just don't take anymore than two in six hours, or else you're gonna find yourself right back here again, getting your stomach pumped!" she warned him.  
  
"Got it. No more than four in five minutes, right?" Erik asked, opening the bottle and pouring a small pile of the white pills into his bandaged hand.   
  
Kira's eyes flew wide open and she quickly tried to grab the bottle and pills from him. "No! I said two in six hours!" She shouted.  
  
Erik laughed and poured the pills back in. "Ahh, just teasing ya." He said, screwing the cap back on the bottle.   
  
Kira sighed a breath of relief and smiled, throwing her braid back again and quickly pulling on the sleeves on her lavender shirt. "Whew. Well, get on then, and make sure to kick some butt for me, okay?" she said, her blue-gray eyes boldly shining.   
  
"You got it!" Erik said, raising a hand as he continued to walk out with the others.   
  
Kira sighed as the door finally closed and watched the blonde walk away, then suddenly snapped back when she heard Dr. Kadowaki approaching her. "Something on your mind, Kirae?" The doctor asked her, tucking a pen behind her ear and placing a clipboard under her arm.   
  
"I dunno Mom, that boy just seemed so.... familiar. I could've sworn I've known him before. Maybe when I was a kid?" she said, getting behind her desk and playing with the computer for a moment.   
  
"He did seem a little familiar, now that you mention it. He reminds me of someone, but I can't think who." The doctor said, leaning on the counter and staring into space, trying to search her store of information.   
  
Kira sighed, already giving up and starting to enter data into the computer's files. "Well, I dunno. Maybe I'll think of it later."   
  
"Maybe." 


	16. Frayed

Disclaimer: Thou ownest not the company called Square, nor dost thou owneth the round table and the knights that abode there.  
  
Chapter 16: Frayed  
  
Erik walked a little faster than the rest of the group eager for the day to end. His mind was racing, running through photo-like memories of people he had known, trying to match Kira with the information in his mind. He knew her from somewhere, but couldn't put a finger on it. At the same time, he hoped she wasn't doing the same thing.   
  
The station, the simplest form of a jail, quickly came into his sight. He prayed above all else that Laguna definitely wasn't there. Laguna would be the first to recognize him, and the last thing he wanted was a reunion of any kind.   
  
Yuffie dashed ahead of them and ran up the brief flight of stairs to the white building and held the door open for them. "Come on in, guys!" she said, waiting for them to herd in.   
  
The building was extremely simple, mainly just a small office and a hallway with a brief row of cells. "Man, if you guys are supposed to have such an extreme success rate, where are all the bad guys at?" Sora asked, looking around.  
  
"Oh, we usually just end up transferring all the criminals to other districts, usually the D-district Prison in the west, out in the desert."  
  
"I don't care about your excuses! Get back in your cell, right now!" A voice shouted, followed by one of the rugged bandits from the forest quickly running out of a door and rushing over to a cell door, waiting as an electronic buzz sounded, then scrambling to get into the cell as the door slammed shut again.   
  
Jerdania walked out of the doorway, squealing with delight when she spotted her friends. "Hey guys!" She shouted, bouncing down the hall to meet them.   
  
"Woah, Jerdania! What'd ya do to them?" Erik laughed, noticing how the room quickly hushed as she gave the hallway a quick glance.   
  
"I have my ways." She said, straightening her long crimson braid and sweeping a few loose strands out of her lightly tanned face.   
  
Irvine chuckled and tried to feign terror as she stepped towards him. "Jerdania, you don't need to hurt me too." He cried out, stepping backwards.  
  
"Come on you two, I wanna get our stuff already." Erik said, rolling his eyes.   
  
"Oh, alright. Come on, I know where it's at!" Jerdania said, her braid bouncing as she flew down the hall and skidded to a stop in front of an office door. "Come on Yuffie, unlock it for me!"   
  
Yuffie walked down the hall followed by the others, amused by the girl who was jumping up and down in impatience. The short black-haired woman finally produced a set of keys from her pocked and proceeded to unlock the large closet. With a shout, Jerdania leapt into the closet and began to chuck out the assortment of weapons, duffel bags and backpacks, then sliding back out, now once again armed to the teeth with her daggers and cooking ware, a huge grin that could have rivaled Sora's on her face.   
  
Irvine seemed to be the only one who wasn't completely overwhelmed by the grinning whirlwind of energy. In fact, anyone who cared to look closely enough could tell that the cowboy obviously got a rush from being around her, and practically encouraged her to be the maniac that she was.   
  
"All right! Finally, I missed you so much!" Irvine said, cradling the rifle in his arms.   
  
"Hey!" Jerdania said, jumping up in front of him and lightly punching his arm. "What about me?"   
  
"Oh, here." He said, planting a kiss on her forehead.   
  
The rest of the group were frankly annoyed by the constant show of affection, and were grateful when Tidus distracted them. "Well, now that Jerdania isn't beating people up anymore, maybe she can finally sit still long enough to tell us what she learned from the bandits."   
  
Jerdania frowned. "Those stubborn louts won't tell me a thing." She said, stomping the ground.   
  
"Have you tried talking to their leader?" Irvine asked, pushing up his cowboy hat.   
  
"Oh, Skyzer? He refuses to say a single word." She said, folding her arms.   
  
"Maybe we should all try to get him to talk." Riku suggested, folding his arms as well.  
  
"We could try." Jerdania agreed, looking to Yuffie.   
  
The group gathered around the table in the room, staring hard at the man who sat in a chair behind it. Skyzer was leisurely chewing on a toothpick, ignoring all the questions being thrown at him. The group's nerves had frayed, and they all knew it wouldn't be long before Riku finally snapped, given his short and violent temper. "For the last time, tell us; why did you attack us?" Akirame said, leaning forward.  
  
Skyzer finally looked up at the fiery girl and took the toothpick out of his mouth, and a short string of expletives came out of his mouth, causing the girl's face to quickly pale. The group quickly drew back as Riku's nerves snapped, but not before Erik's. Both boys walked over and seemed to tower over the large man. Riku leaned in and grabbed the man's shirt collar, pulling his face close. "You mind repeating that?" he calmly said, the fierce storm in his eyes the only thing giving away the oncoming fury.   
  
Skyzer pumped himself up and repeated the expertly crafted insult, and was completely caught off guard as Riku lifted the man up from his chair and swung him around, pinning him against the wall. "Look buddy, don't even think for one second that you're going to get away with talking about Akirame that way!" Riku growled, his hold on the man's collar tightening as he drew his other hand back, curling it into a fist.   
  
Erik reached out and grabbed Riku's arm with his good hand, stopping the flying fist just inches from Skyzer's face. "Riku, we don't need to kill him. He may be the only one with the answers that we need." Erik calmly said, trying to soothe his friend.   
  
Riku took a deep breath and backed off, letting the man slump against the wall. Skyzer was visibly shaken, his eyes wide and forehead dripping slightly with sweat. Erik stood in front of the man, and lifted up his bandaged hand. "This is part of the reason why I'm here." He said, narrowing his eyes. "The other part is Akirame." He practically whispered, drawing his brows together.   
  
Skyzer looked at the boy's hand for a moment before answering. "I'm glad Gypsy did that to you before you killed her." The man snarled, trying to regain his confidence.   
  
"The wounds your beast gave me will heal. The ones I'll give you if you don't stop being a smart aleck won't." Erik threatened, producing a pocket knife from his jeans.   
  
Skyzer gulped as Erik held the blade up to the man's neck. "Now I am sick and tired of being badgered and bullied, and I am going to get some answers from you right now." The boy barely whispered, his forehead beading with sweat from his quiet rage.  
  
Skyzer sighed. "All right. I give up. It's not worth it. This man met up with me and my gang while we was resting at our camp. He offered us a good deal of money if we would check every single incoming group of people in the forest, and that we were looking for someone with some sort of mark on their hands. The reward would be phenomenal, and we had been having bad luck, so we agreed." Skyzer confessed, his British accent thickening the words.   
  
"And who is this mystery man?" Erik prodded, still wielding the small blade.  
  
"I don't know. He didn't give us a name. All I know is that he has a flair for black leather. He reminded me of those SOLDIERs Shinra used to have. Of course, Shinra's been gone for at least a good hundred years now or so, it couldn't be the guy I was thinking he might be." Skyzer began to rattle on.  
  
"Right, what guy?"  
  
"Uh.....you're gonna think I'm crazy, but the guy looked just like Sephiroth."   
  
Erik sighed and put the pocket knife away, and then dealt a solid blow with his fist to the man's stomach. "That's for what you called Akirame." He said, walking away.   
  
"Sephiroth?" Yuffie asked, looking at the group.   
  
Skyzer had been put away, and Erik was now calmed down, Riku at his side. "That's what Skyzer said, the guy looked like Sephiroth." Erik repeated, crossing his arms.   
  
Yuffie looked up at Tidus, who was just as puzzled. "But...Sephiroth has been dead for like, practically thirty years! Shinra itself died maybe twenty years ago. Maybe it was just some psycho goof-ball running around in the forest." He said, scratching his head.   
  
"No, this has to be Sephiroth." Riku said, looking at the ground. "We've talked with Cloud Strife back in Transverse Town, and he told us that Sephiroth was back."   
  
Tidus and Yuffie looked at each other, their jaws dropping. "Cloud Strife? But.... but he's been dead at least as long as Sephiroth has." Yuffie said.  
  
The information came as a shock to the group. "But...he can't be dead. He sent us here to talk to Laguna and deliver a package." Erik argued.  
  
Yuffie and Tidus looked greatly displeased with where this was going. "Man, the least we can do is let you guys talk with Laguna once he gets here and all. Then we'll let you sort it out with him."  
  
"What time will he be getting here?"   
  
Tidus looked at his watch. "He should get here tomorrow. You guys are gonna have to find a place to stay. There really aren't any hotels in town."   
  
Riku sighed. "Well...we do have camping gear and there is a small field on the edge of town were we could stay without disturbing anyone."  
  
The group shrugged, although they didn't look overwhelmingly thrilled. "Well, sorry guys, but there's nothing more we can do for ya. I guess you can just hang around town, and tomorrow just come back here around noon and Laguna should be here." Yuffie said, feeling sorry for them.  
  
Riku shrugged. "Well, come on guys, let's go."   
  
"Where to? It's only 5 p.m." Sora asked, looking bored already as they left the building.  
  
"Hmm.... I guess we could just have bit of a free day for now, and then meet back here at this building around 8 to start camp."   
  
"Woohoo! Civilization!" Kairi joyfully shouted, grabbing Akirame and Jerdania's hands. "Come on girls, lets go look around this place."  
  
"Uh...bye!" Akira quickly shouted as she was dragged off by the other two.   
  
The boys stared and looked at each other for a while. "Well, the chicks dumped us! Now what?" Sora said, watching the girls quickly running around a small fountain.   
  
"Well, we really need to stock on supplies. Come on Sora, we're going grocery shopping." Riku said, grabbing his younger friend.  
  
"Why me?"   
  
"Because I said so."  
  
"Awww..." Sora groaned, now following the older teen.  
  
Red, Erik and Irvine all looked at each other. "So... go figure. Leave the Balamb boys out, eh?" Irvine said, folding his arms.   
  
"Irvine.... you remembered what I told you about my past?" Erik quietly said, looking up at his tall friend.  
  
"Yeah, you told me everything except for the name of the town." The cowboy drawled.  
  
"Irvine, this is the city where I lived when I was a kid." 


	17. Stairway to Hell

Disclaimer: I own......uh.....what do I own?  
  
(A/n: Alright people, in case you haven't noticed, my story is a MAJOR AU *alternate universe* fic...so get ready to just take surprising blow after blow!)  
  
Chapter 17: Stairway to Hell   
  
Irvine's jaw dropped. "You're kidding. This is the town?"   
  
Erik sighed. "Yeah, this is the place. I'm hoping no one will recognize me."   
  
Irvine shook his head. "Well, why not? I thought you told me your---"  
  
"I just left a lot of people behind here, and the last thing I need to do is start having a bunch of memories. I buried my past here, and this is where it stays." Erik said, staring at the cobblestone street.  
  
With that statement, Erik looked up and began to walk away. Irvine stepped after him, but was held back by Red. "He wants to be alone." The hybrid said, grabbing Irvine's arm.   
  
"But he's like my little bro! I'm supposed to be there for him!"   
  
"Irvine, you only know half of Erik's story. Do you know why he left?"  
  
Irvine, clearly frustrated, looked at the blonde-haired figure walking away from them. "Yeah, he said that his dad died and that he had nowhere to go, so he ended up in an orphanage in Cetra, where these people named Cid and Matron took care of him and me and the rest of the orphanage gang---"  
  
"Alright, enough. You only know half the story, Irvine. Erik wasn't simply abandoned, he ran away."   
  
"Ran away? From what? His father had a heart attack and died. The kid had nowhere to go."  
  
"Erik had plenty of places to go to. He ran away, Irvine, and he wasn't alone. Someone took him to Cetra and saw to it that he was taken to Balamb Garden."   
  
Irvine tried to absorb all of the information he was being given. "Then...who took him?"   
  
Red shook his head. "That isn't for you to know, I'm afraid. All I can tell you is that I have known Erik far longer than you might think." And with that, the 1,700 year old hybrid walked away, towards the outskirts of town, Irvine following after in his confusion.  
  
Erik continued to walk down the mostly empty streets, keeping his head down. He sifted through the pool of mixed memories in his mind, matching images up with the ones he saw now, digging up his dead past, creating his own personal torture chamber in his mind, then hurriedly trying to put it away. Suddenly a voice caught his attention. "Hey, you! Uh....Erik, stop!"   
  
Erik paused and turned around to see Kira, the nurse from the clinic rushing after him. "Hey, you wanted me?" Erik asked, watching as the girl hurriedly straightened her braid.   
  
"Yeah, I just figured something out." She said, looking up at his face. He had gotten so tall.  
  
"Uh... what's that?" He asked, suddenly afraid of being found out, but uncertain why.  
  
"I think I know you. You used to live here, didn't you? What's your full name?"   
  
Erik gulped. "Erik. Erik Sandoval, why?"  
  
Kira smiled, suddenly jumping with excitement. "Hey, do you and your friends need a place to stay?" She asked, seeming to avoid his question.  
  
Erik sighed. "Yeah, actually, we do. Why?"   
  
"Because my mom sent me out to look for you guys and offer you room at our house!" She cheerfully said, almost seeming not to tell him everything.   
  
"I uh...I guess that sounds okay. I'd have to find Riku and the others first, though. I hope you wouldn't mind coming with me to find them all."  
  
"Not at all." She cheerfully said, seeming all to willing to tag along.   
  
Erik tried to not mind the cheery countenance as he wandered along the streets, then shouting when he spotted Akirame and the girls in a nearby store, trying on sunglasses. "Hey, Akirame, Kairi, Jerdania! Over here!" Erik shouted, putting a hand up to his mouth to amplify his voice.   
  
The girls looked up and quickly spotted him, then came running out after a few moments to join them. "Oh, hi, you're Amanda from the clinic, aren't you?" Kairi said, offering a friendly hand.  
  
"Yep, she says her mom might have room for us to sleep over tonight." Erik said, quickly taking the bags that the girls kept handing to him.   
  
"We'll have to see what Riku thinks first. Where did Irvine and Red head off to?" Akirame asked.  
  
"Uh...I think Red and Irvine are still somewhere back towards the Station." Erik said, struggling to hold all the shopping bags. How did girls manage to buy so much in so little time?  
  
Kira laughed and quickly took some of the bags. "Here, let me help you with those." She said, taking a few.  
  
"Oh, you don't have to do that, we can take them." Jerdania said, taking her bags back from a relieved Erik.   
  
"Ok, look, We'll go get Red and Irvine, and you two can find Riku and Sora." Kairi quickly said, now handing her bags back once again to the exasperated Erik.   
  
"Okay then, I guess we'll just come over and meet you guys then." Erik said.  
  
"Alright, come on girls." And with that the trio of girls rushed off, leaving Erik carrying a load of plastic bags full of stuff to carry.   
  
"Okay then.... I'm guessing Riku and Sora would be wherever a supply story would be at." Erik said, looking around as if he didn't know the city by heart.   
  
"Come on, I'll show you. You probably don't remember anymore." She said, pulling on his arm and leading him down the street.  
  
"Remember what?"  
  
"Nevermind."   
  
Kira continued to drag Erik down the street until they came upon another open square, where Sora and Riku were exiting a store with bags of their own. "Riku, Sora!" Erik shouted, trying to keep a grip on the five bags he had.   
  
"Erik!" Sora shouted back, rushing over to meet them. "Hey, wazzup Amanda?"   
  
"Hey Riku, Amanda here says that her mom might be willing to take is in for the night." Erik explained.  
  
"Anything is better than outdoors right now, and I think we're all dying to take showers." Riku said.  
  
"All right then, I guess we go meet the others, and I'll show you to my place." Kira cheerfully said.  
  
And with that Riku and Sora added their four bags to Erik's already heavy load, and walked ahead to talk to Amanda while leaving Erik to carry the stuff. "Ahh man, what did I do to deserve this? What about my hand?!" Erik moaned, struggling to keep from dropping anything.   
  
"Here, let me help you with that." Kira said, quickly taking several of the bags before Erik could protest.   
  
The group headed down the now shadow-filled street, happily chatting as Erik tried his hardest to balance everything with his one good hand, and somehow was managing to succeed.   
  
They quickly approached the Station, and allowed Erik to drop the bags so he could run over and get Irvine and Red. "Geez, what am I, a bell boy?" Erik asked as he quickly rushed down the stone path that led to the outskirts.   
  
He passed by a couple familiar Swedish-style homes that had a loving environment that seemed to emanate all around him. He paused for a moment to admire the dazzling flowers, and paused to pick a simple white Easter lily before continuing his jog.   
  
Irvine and Red hadn't even managed to get their own gear out, as they were arguing over something. Erik paused for a moment behind a bush of highly fragrant roses and listened.   
  
"What happened to Erik is none of your business!"   
  
"Why not? I'm like his older brother! We even grew up at that orphanage together!"  
  
"I have no right to tell you about Erik's past unless I had his permission. Friends keep secrets."   
  
"Friends tell! They don't keep secrets from each other!"  
  
Erik decided to quickly stop the argument before it got any more turbulent. "Hey guys!" He quickly shouted as he jumped out of the rose bush and back onto the path.   
  
"Oh...hey Erik. Wazzup?" Irvine sheepishly said.  
  
"Nothing much. That girl Kira, from the clinic, says her mom might take us in for the night."   
  
"Oh, that's great. Uh... you gonna help us carry our gear?"   
  
Erik sighed. "Geez, Red, you're a dragon. Just, morph or something and carry the stuff. I'm pretty sure no one here would attack you, seeing as to how you're a sissy-sized dragon."  
  
"Excuse me? Did you say a sissy dragon?" Red quickly countered, stepping forward.   
  
"Oh, it's okay to be a tiny dragon. I mean, because of your small size, no one has any need to feel threatened around you."   
  
"So what are you saying, I'm to little to be scary?"  
  
"Too little to be strong too." Irvine added.  
  
"All right, that's it. You wanna see a sissy dragon?" Red challenged, shifting into his pathetic pony-sized form. "Alright, bring it on! Give me all the bags, and I'll carry them the whole way! We'll see who's puny now."  
  
Irvine and Erik gave each other a high-five and quickly mounted the various luggage onto the dragon's back. "There ya go, my dear reptilian pack-mule." Irvine drawled, strapping the last duffel bag on.   
  
"Pack-mule nothing. Let's go." Red effortlessly stood up and proudly trotted ahead of the two highly clever boys.   
  
Kira was rather shocked at the sight of a dragon, and had no idea how to react when she saw the nonchalant looks on her guests' faces. "Now who's sissy, huh? Bring it on!" The dragon shouted with a Scottish ring, now trotting backwards and strutting like a boxer who had just won a championship match.   
  
"Oh yeah, you are so totally not a wuss, even though you are the smallest dragon I have ever seen." Erik said, trying not to laugh.   
  
"Oh jeez, Erik! What did you tell Red?" Akirame laughed, enjoying the scene.   
  
"Nothing, I just said that I thought he was a wuss, and now he's trying to prove us wrong."   
  
"Oh, whatever."  
  
The boys and the red beast of burden joined the others. "So, is this all of you guys?" Kira asked, looking at the large number of people. With luck she could cram them into the guest rooms.   
  
"Yeah, this is all of us. No, wait...where's Bob and Frank?" Sora teased, covering his eyes from the glare of the early sunset and trying to spot the two fictional friends.   
  
"Oh boy, I sure hope Mom can take all of you guys. Come on, I'll show you how to get to my house." Kira said, turning and mentally calling herself a fool for ever thinking that all these people would fit into her house.   
  
Erik slipped towards the back of the group, distancing himself slightly from the others. For some odd reason, his stomach had tied itself in a knot, and he had a hunch that he was going to have to face his long-dead past head-on. He was screaming in his mind, trying to think of any way to escape from this situation. What if he had another one of his persistent "visions"? Or what if something triggered one of his violent flashbacks? How would he explain it? What was he going to do?  
  
His mind was going a hundred miles an hour when he felt Riku's hand on his shoulder. "Hey, you okay?" The older teen asked, eyeing the blonde through strands of silvery, chrome-blue hair.   
  
"I....I just..." Erik paused, trying to think of what he should say. His mind only drew a blank, and he felt cornered.  
  
"Do you feel uncomfortable about staying at Kira's?" Riku asked, picking up on the tense waves of nervous energy running through the younger boy's body.  
  
"Sort of. I mean, I just... I can't explain it. I just... it's personal." Erik managed to stammer, trying to fight the urge to run.   
  
"Erik, don't worry so much. You and I have been through more stuff together in less than three weeks than most people do in a lifetime.   
  
This crazy 'Journey of Fate' has really caused us to grow incredibly close, you know? So, don't worry about coming to any of us to talk, all right? I mean...." Riku trailed off for a second, realizing that he was actually preaching to himself.   
  
He took a deep sigh before continuing, "We really shouldn't distance ourselves from our friends. We need each other. So, if you've got something on your mind, I'm always open, and I know that everyone else here will listen too."   
  
Erik took in the undeniable wisdom in Riku's words and nodded, tucking them away somewhere in his mind...perhaps his heart, for later reference. "Thanks Riku."   
  
Kira made the last turn on the street and led them along a sidewalk, then stopped in front of a two-story yellow and white-trimmed house. Erik looked across the street and a flash of....recognition? Pain? Fear, even? Something lit up his eyes as he stared at the seemingly abandoned house that looked run-down, with its windows caked with dirt and the wooden deck badly in need of painting, or better yet, burning.   
  
"Well, this is my house." Kira cheerfully said, taking a quick peek back at the blonde boy who was standing in somewhat of a trance as he stared at the old "Drunken Death" house.   
  
Quickly looking away, Kira opened the door and walked into the hallway. "Mom! I'm home! I brought those kids from the clinic with me too!" she shouted as she took off her shoes and neatly lined them under a coat-rack, a million things buzzing in her mind.   
  
"Okay honey! I'm coming!" Her mother shouted back from somewhere in the house.   
  
Kira nodded at the group for them to come in, and made sure that they left their shoes in the hallway before leading them into the spacious living room. Kira's mother soon came dashing out of another hallway, her graying hair pulled back into a clip to keep it from flying around her face. "Dr. Kadowaki?! She's your mom?" Erik asked, turning to look at the brunette.  
  
"Yep. Pretty cool, huh? Well Mom, here they are...wait a minute...where's the lizard guy?" Kira asked, looking in the hall to count all the visitors.   
  
"I'm right here." Red spoke up, having reverted to his human form so he could get through door.   
  
"Huh?"  
  
"He's a hybrid. Half-human, half-dragon, half-Chihuahua." Irvine proudly said, earning a shove from the insulted one.  
  
Dr. Kadowaki laughed. "Boy, what a strange group of people. You kids should probably give your gang a nick name."   
  
"Yeah, I know, but I can't think of anything!" Irvine said, tilting back his hat.   
  
"Well, I guess I'll just have to help you while you're here then."   
  
"Hey, how come you're not all strict like you were in the clinic?" Sora questioned.  
  
"Yeah, and where's my lollipop?" Erik demanded, holding up his bandaged hand.  
  
The doctor laughed again, adding to the warmth of the room. "You kids are a hoot! Well, let's just say that it's that darned white coat that gets me so stiff."   
  
By now the entire group was completely at peace with their arrangements. The kindly, middle-aged doctor led them up the stairs and showed them where the two guest rooms were. The boys would stay in the room at the end on the left wing of the hall, while the girls would be staying at the opposite end. With that settled, The kids ran downstairs and began to collect their bags from outside and basically dumped everything on their beds.   
  
Erik walked up the stairs with several bags and managed to slip through the hall and into the boy's room, where Riku and Sora were sitting on their beds. Kira rushed up behind him, trying to offer her help.  
  
Her hand gently brushed against Erik's arm as she attempted to grab the grocery bags. All it took was that one indirect motion to make Erik snap.   
  
"Woah!" Riku shouted, backing away as Erik violently whipped back his arm, swinging the bags back and nearly knocking Sora over.  
  
"Erik, calm down!" Sora said, slowly moving towards his unstable friend like a zoo keeper approaching an injured lion.   
  
Erik stood in a defensive fighting position, his good hand curled into a fist while the other was placed across his heaving chest, his eyes narrowed and piercing.   
  
Riku slowly approached his friend, his hands up as if he were surrendering. "Erik, what's wrong?" He asked, taking a step towards the seemingly crazed boy.   
  
Erik backed up until he hit the wall. "Don't touch me." He said in half-sob, half-threat.   
  
"Erik, just calm down a second, all right? Sora, get Kira out of here and make sure she's okay. I'll deal with Erik." Riku quickly instructed.   
  
Sora led Kira out of the room and tried to comfort her as she tried to calm down. "What...what was it? Was it something I did? Did I hurt him?" She asked, instantly feeling guilty.  
  
"No, I don't know what Erik's problem is. I've never seen him like that before." Sora said, trying to slow down his own pulse. 


	18. Deep Dive

Chapter 18: Deep Dive  
  
Disclaimer: I own copies of the game FF7, FF8, FFX and KH....but..... I don't own the companies that made those games. If I did, I would be in Kingdom Hearts, and Riku would like ME!  
  
(A/N: Alright people, these chapters about Erik are very personal to me, because they reflect the past that I lived when I was only a kid. If you want to get a better feeling for these chapters, or heck, the whole freaking story, I can suggest you listen to the following songs, whichever ones may be your taste: "Face to Face"-Justifide, heavy metal; "Suteki da Ne"-FFX soundtrack, love-song-ish; "Otherworld"- FFX soundtrack, heavy metal w/ screaming vocalists; the entire Evanescence album, "Fallen", goth rock, with a couple really sad songs like "My Immortal" and "Hello", plus the infamous "Bring Me to Life". )...I'll shut up now.   
  
Chapter 18: There is Life and Death in the   
  
Power of the Tongue  
  
  
  
**********************  
  
"....man can tame all sorts of beasts...but the tongue no man can tame. It is an unruly evil, filled with deadly poison."  
  
********************  
  
Riku took another step towards Erik, who was now no longer wild-eyed, but still panting.   
  
Erik's mind slowly began to register reality, and soon he let his shoulders relax, dropped his head and closed his eyes, trying to calm down. He slumped against the wall and slid slowly to the floor and buried his head in his knees, trying to will away the tears. He wouldn't cry. He couldn't. Not in front of Riku or anyone, not even in front of Irvine. He lifted his head when he felt a comforting hand rest on his shoulder. Riku was crouched down next to him, his aqua eyes searching for something from under his dark brows and silvery bangs. "Don't you dare." Erik said, craning his neck back.  
  
"Erik, I ain't gonna hurt you." Riku said with a soothing voice.   
  
"That's not what I'm afraid of you doing."  
  
"Then what is it that I'm doing to scare you?" The guy could have signed up to be a psychiatrist without even going to college.   
  
"I'm afraid that you're gonna kiss me."  
  
Riku blinked. "What?"  
  
"Don't kiss me!"  
  
Riku was completely confused. "Why the heck would I kiss you?"  
  
"You did back at Balamb Garden. I'm fortunate that you stopped before you tried to French me, weirdo!"   
  
Riku sighed and rolled his eyes. "That again? Jeez Erik, you sure do go all-out to make me miserable, don't you."   
  
"Yep. That's me!" Erik said as cutely as possible, giving a radical grin.   
  
"Cut it out already! Man, you've been hanging out with Sora too long. You're starting to look like him now." Riku said, standing up and offering Erik his hand.   
  
Erik already felt better, glad for the morphine humor provided to numb the pain of his past. Anything to numb the pain. Just to mask it, to hide it away. Erik took Riku's hand and stood up, then suddenly decided to take another whopping dose of the "best medicine". "Oh, Riku?" He said, suddenly standing in front of the older boy.  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"Look....I uh....I need to tell you something." Erik said, shyly looking at the ground and scuffing his shoe on the wooden floor.  
  
"Go ahead, I'm listening." Riku said, walking towards the closed door.  
  
"No, wait." Erik walked over and grabbed his friend's arm, stopping him. "I want to talk here, in private."  
  
Riku shrugged. "Whatever makes you comfortable."   
  
Erik looked at the ground and tried to blush, managing to turn his cheeks a light pink. "Thanks Riku, you're really...sweet."  
  
Riku raised an eyebrow and looked at the blushing sixteen-year-old. "Uh......thanks, I guess."  
  
"Look, Riku, you and I are really close, and I think I should finally tell you why I've been so distant."   
  
Riku definitely didn't like where this could be going. He backed up a step, hoping he could escape before the blonde did anything too crazy. "Uh......"  
  
"Riku....all I ever wanted was for you to hold me." Erik said, sounding like an actor...no...actress from a cheesy soap opera.   
  
Riku tried to make a quick dash for the door, but Erik leapt and wrapped his arms around the older boy's waist and continued to wail. "Don't you love me Riku? We're destined to be together! It's in...the stars." Erik let his voice sound as comically dramatic as possible, dramatically lifting his hand to the heavens to add feeling to his act.  
  
"Oh geez Erik, you're too weird. I'm out of here. Let go!" Riku feigned terror as he tried to pry the boy's arms off of his waist.   
  
"Oh, woe is me, for my love hath forsaken me. Must I dwell in the shadows of misery alone?" Erik recited as he was tossed to the floor.  
  
"Shut up!" Riku laughed, and tackled the boy on the ground, wrestling him.   
  
Just then the door opened and Irvine and Sora walked in, Kira poking her head in behind them. "Woah, is it that bad? Kira, you better clear the area." Sora said, pushing the girl back out.   
  
Kira stood in the hallway for a minute, staring at the door that was being slammed in her face. What was going here? Erik and that Riku boy looked more like they were being goof-balls than fighting.  
  
Inside the room, Irvine and Sora were pulling the two boys off of each other. "Man, Erik, what the heck is going on? That Kira girl is so scared that she made you made angry, she's afraid to apologize!" Sora said, folding his arms.  
  
"Look guys....I'm really sorry about that, and I wish we could just pretend it didn't happen." Erik said, feeling the comfort slipping away.   
  
"I don't think it's gonna work that way. You need to apologize and explain to everyone why you've been so weird lately." Irvine said, looking pointedly as Red walked in as well.   
  
Red sighed and shook his head. "Look, Erik doesn't have to explain if he doesn't want to. All he has to do is apologize."   
  
"What, and wait for the next time he blows up?" Irvine shot back.  
  
"Well maybe it's none of your business!" Red angrily snarled.   
  
Erik and Riku stared at each other, not knowing what to say as the two boys continued in the equivalent of a man's cat fight.   
  
Outside the room, Akirame, Kairi and Jerdania could all clearly hear the shouting voices coming from the boy's room. "Oh no, please don't tell me they're fighting." Kairi said, looking upset.   
  
"Come on girls. Sounds like these boys need a good dose of feminine reasoning." Jerdania said, putting her hands on her hips as if she were a super hero.   
  
Akirame was the first to peek in. The sight wasn't very pretty. Red and Irvine were shouting at each other from across the room while Riku and Erik sat together in a corner, waiting for it to pass. Erik looked extremely upset, and for reasons she didn't understand, she felt like she had to immediately stand up for him. With an angry growl she stepped in through the door, followed by the two other girls. "What's the problem here?" Jerdania asked, putting on her tough-girl look.   
  
"It would take a thousand years to explain, Jer." Irvine said, already softening for the sake of his girl.   
  
Akirame dashed over and sat on the other side of Erik, looking at Riku for an explanation. Riku shrugged his shoulders. "I'm as in the dark as you are. All I know is that Red and Irvine are screaming about Erik telling us about something."  
  
Erik looked much more relaxed now that the two simmering debaters weren't screeching anymore. "I don't want them to fight." He whispered, burying his face in his arms as he drew his knees against his chest.   
  
"It's all right, Erik. Riku, we should get him out of here." Akirame said, wrapping her arms around Erik's shoulders.  
  
"When they start yelling, he refuses to move. His eyes kinda glaze over, like he's in another world or something. Maybe....maybe he's having some sort of flashback?" Riku said, grimacing as the tone of Red's voice raised again, causing Erik to shudder.  
  
Irvine's voice raised in response to Red's and the two boys seemed ready to duke it out all night long. Kairi, who was now greatly upset by the things the two boys were saying, sat down next to Akira and leaned against her friend's legs so she could be close to Erik. "Erik, are you okay?" she whispered, trying to see Erik's face.  
  
Erik whispered something, but it was so quiet, so full of pain, no one could understand him. Sora had now joined the bout, trying to get them to both stop fighting, only getting tangled in as well. He now found himself trying to block the blows from the swords made from their harsh words, and was losing.   
  
Jerdania refused to stop tugging at Irvine's coat, bravely trying to get his attention and calm him down, but didn't seem to be getting through to him.   
  
While the battle raged and continued to rise in tempo, Riku's anger continued to rise. He had just about had enough. He finally stood up and faced the fighting group with a look on his face that could have killed the legendary monster Omega Weapon in its tracks. "Would you guys please just stop?" He practically begged, fighting the urge to grab the Luna Luz and end it right here.   
  
The three boys paused for a moment, then directed their attack at Riku, telling him to "butt out", and that it "wasn't any of his business". With a slam, Riku shut the door behind him and left the room, stopping when he saw the terrified look on Kira's face. With a sigh, Riku ran his fingers through his matted hair and explained to her what was going on. The two nodded and headed downstairs to get Dr. Kadowaki.   
  
Akirame and Erik were now the only two that weren't fighting. Kairi had starting crying while pleading for them to stop, which had angered Sora, and now Kairi somehow was fighting on his side. Jerdania somehow saw things through Red's eyes, believing that Erik should be allowed to keep things to himself, while Irvine angrily tried to defend his view.   
  
Erik gave another shudder, and Akirame let him lean against her and hide away from the world as he hid his face in her shoulder.   
  
Indistinct words, raging from an inferno in the living room. His parents were fighting, as usual.  
  
"Mommy, Daddy, please stop fighting!" A young girl's voice suddenly rang out.  
  
The memory grew vivid for a brief moment, allowing him to see only his father.....his mother and the little girl seemed to be moving streaks of light with no distinct shape. "Stay out of this!" his father growled, leering at the blur.   
  
"No! I'm tired of you always fighting and hurting each other!" The little girl bravely shot back, the blur moving across the room to approach the much taller man.   
  
Erik cringed, uncertain of what would happen. It was like watching David taunting Goliath. "Honey, please don't..." his mother's voice begged, the taller blur bending over and trying to draw the brave 3-year-old back.   
  
His father approached the pleading mother with an upraised hand, apparently readying himself to strike, when the little girl made an unexpected move. "I'm not letting you hurt Mommy anymore!" The little girl howled, rushing forward and knocking herself into the man's legs as hard as she could, knocking him over.  
  
Tense silence.....the man slowly pushed himself up, pushing aside the half-empty beer bottles that were in his way. "I see how it is. Little girl, I'm gonna whip you so bad, people won't be able to recognize you anymore." The man hissed as he slowly stood up again.   
  
"Don't you dare touch my baby!" his mother screamed, wrapping her arms around the girl. "Hurry baby, run and hide with your brother." The mother anxiously said, releasing the mere toddler.   
  
The little blur dashed toward him and clung desperately to him. "Erik, I'm scared." The little girl said, crying into his shoulder.   
  
"I'll take care of you." He said, holding her tighter.   
  
"Erik! Erik! Erik!"   
  
"Erik! Snap out of it, man!" Riku's voice urgently begged, gently shaking the fazed boy's shoulder with his gloved hand.   
  
Erik blinked and looked around. So his worst fear had come true. Just breaking down here in front of all his friends... how was he going to explain it? Even he himself didn't quite understand why he was reliving nightmares from his supposedly forgotten past. "Erik, are you okay?" Akirame asked, now crouching in front of him.   
  
Erik felt...humiliated. Everyone, even Kira, was standing around him, judging him with their eyes. He felt cramped, caged in. He quickly jolted up and tried to push the people away from him, his heart beat leaping at the chance to get a breath of air into his choking lungs. "I....I'm fine....I just...." He tried to say, now leaning over and feeling like fainting.   
  
"Oh, baby, are you okay?" Dr. Kadowaki asked, slowly approaching him.   
  
"I'm fine." Was the shaky lie that he quickly stuttered out, trying to get a grip on reality.   
  
"Erik, what happened? It's like, as soon as Red and Irvine started yelling at each other, you just spazzed out!" Sora said, using his arms to make gestures.   
  
"I don't wanna talk about it." Erik barely whispered, his mind screaming for him to run.  
  
"Erik... we need to understand what's wrong. You could become a danger to us if we don't know why you've been having these....episodes!" Irvine said, taking his chance to voice his frustration.  
  
"Hey Irvine, back down. Erik just went through the equivalent of a seizure! He needs gentleness right now." Kairi said, firmly pulling on the cowboy's trench coat.   
  
Akirame slowly stepped forward and placed a comforting hand on Erik's shoulder. "Erik, you can take your time, but we need to know what's going on." She whispered into his ear.  
  
Erik nodded and straightened up. "Guys.... I don't want to talk about it just now. I mean.... I don't like talking about it at all."   
  
"You mean you've had this problem before?" Dr. Kadowaki asked, mentally jotting down an analysis.   
  
".....yeah. Plenty of times, especially when I was younger." Erik reluctantly answered, feeling the wall he had built around himself slowly coming down, just a few bricks, but enough to start alarming him.   
  
"Hmm..... you really need to confine in someone about this, you know? I don't know what it is, but I can feel that you're trying to hide something from everyone. Erik.... you gotta let it go, one way or another. You're endangering yourself and others with this secret of yours." The doctor advised.  
  
Erik nodded. He didn't want to do this. Not now....not just yet, he couldn't handle it. He walked over to a window in the wall and looked out across the street, which was now lit up by a few lamps in the dark of rural night. Across the street he could make out the outline of the house that contained thousands of his scarring memories. Would he have to face it....alone? Or would he have to build up the courage to tell someone? What if... that person abandoned him....like the others? "How long.....how long was I.....out of it?" Erik asked, pressing a hand up against the window.   
  
"At least five hours. It's already midnight. You have to be so tired after enduring an episode like that. I've seen them before." Dr. Kadowaki responded.   
  
Erik sighed. Five hours? It just didn't seem possible. His.... "vision" couldn't have lasted for more than five minutes. Maybe he really was a threat to the team. "I....I just want to go to sleep."   
  
The others in the room nodded. With that, Erik waited and stared out the window until he was sure that most everyone had left before turning to open his bag that was laying on his bed and pull out the bottle of painkillers. He twisted open the bottle and tried to faintly remember what Kira's instructions were.... "No more than two in six hours....?"   
  
Erik didn't care, now that he really thought about it. He smirked slightly as he dumped out two...three...four pills. He tilted back his head and swallowed the pills, then closed his eyes and gave a silent prayer before collapsing onto the small mattress. 


	19. Aucun retour pour l'âme

(A/n: if you don't want to end up emotionally disturbed for the rest of your life, and if you have a vivid imagination... you might want to skip Erik's dream...not reading it will cause you to possibly be a little lost in later chapters... but don't worry.. I'll sum it up real good in a later chapter. Suggested songs? Hmmm... anything by Evanescence, really. Can't....think.... musta walked the entire mall's length fifty times.... arrrgh.)  
  
Chapter 19: No Return  
  
Erik violently tossed and turned in his bed. Sweat poured from his body, staining the sheets and blankets. His breathing was labored, and he continued to hopelessly tangle himself in the covers as he seemed to be fighting off an army of demons.   
  
  
  
********************-- dream sequence!  
  
Falling... endless falling. Hot wind rushing over him, acid eating away at his soul. Erik's eyes widened as he looked around. He was falling down a tunnel, the walls of which seemed to be made of red flesh, squirming and pulsating as gnarled, burnt black bodies clung to it, their sharp claws piercing the throbbing muscles, drawing more of the acidic blood which they continued to fling at him.   
  
Erik screamed, his fear eating away at his sanity. He looked down, and could see that the bottom was non-existent. The tunnel went on for eternity. Two winged demons, fallen angels with no souls, creatures destroyed by their own choice, flew up from the abyss to attack him, clawing violently at his clothing, tearing it away to leave him completely vulnerable.   
  
Hatred began to grow within him, consuming him like a deadly cancer. He had to fight back, like he had done so many times before. He just had to defeat the demons, and then he would awaken. Erik closed his eyes, and allowed the evil, murderous hate take him over, allowing it to twist and mutilate his body. He growled and lashed out with his clawed hands, shredding the leathery wings of his attackers.   
  
The two demons screamed, the last sound they made before Erik completely severed the desperately flapping appendages, and watched as the assailants fell to their eternal doom.   
  
Erik laughed, a warped sound coming out from a mutilated body. He spread out the large, leathery wings that had sprouted from the loathing within him, and stopped his accent by making short, powerful strokes. He looked upwards, looking for the familiar distant pinprick of light. But now.... it was gone?   
  
With brute determination, Erik winged his way endlessly upward. There was no way out... no way out?! Erik's already blistering mind was now screaming from realization of his fate.   
  
"NO!" He screamed, flying in frantic circles.   
  
He suddenly felt the presence of something nearby, approaching him... no, directly behind him. Light.... pure light. Instead of a soft, warming feeling, the light seemed to pierce right through him, causing his newly attained body to dissolve. He quickly twisted about to face the onslaught of purity, and came face-to-face with... an angel? He couldn't tell, all he could see in the glowing star before him was the faintest outline of a girl with long, flowing hair and a white gown. The deep, piercing blue eyes held him in place. He watched as the ruby red lips parted to form words in his mind.   
  
"Erik.... Erik... you have fallen. You have let the hatred inside you grow and consume you. You cannot fight evil with evil, Erik. A kingdom divided against itself cannot stand." The words seemed to come from nowhere, and at the same time, everywhere.   
  
"Can't I... can't I go back? Can't I wake up?" He asked, feeling his heartbeat racing.  
  
"I'm sorry Erik, but you took your own life. You can't save yourself."   
  
Erik suddenly felt that somehow, in some way, he knew what was going to happen next. "Then... what?" Was this all still just a dream? It had to be...  
  
"Erik, I can bring you back from this place. But I need to have direct access to your soul."   
  
Erik eyed her cautiously. What was she talking about? "My...my soul? Why?"  
  
"I need to have a connection with someone so I can speak directly to Riku, as well as you and your compatriots. You will be needing my guidance if this legend is to ever be fulfilled." She said with words of a soothing tone.  
  
"What would.... how would this affect me?"  
  
The angel gave him a look of pure love, and walked over to him, then gently leaned toward him to whisper in his ear, "I would be living with you in your physical shell. My heart would beat right alongside yours. I would live somewhere inside you, speaking to you, telling you all you need to know."   
  
Erik looked slightly down at her. "How... how would this affect you?"   
  
The angel looked aside, as if afraid. "My physical body will still be somewhere else, yes, waiting for your arrival, but part of my soul will be within you, as part of yours will be within me. If one of us were to be killed, the other would die as well, along with the fate of your friends. You would also be able to feel my every emotion, as well as physical sensations, such as pain or pleasure."   
  
Erik's mind was bewildered. "I don't want anything! I just want out of here! Please! Let me wake up! Let me go!" He screamed, his mind thrashing violently.   
  
"I'm sorry Erik." The angel gently said, and with that, the dream faded away.   
  
***************************  
  
  
  
Erik bolted up in bed, panting heavily. He waited a moment for his vision to clear. Despite the bright moonlight coming in through the window in the room, every thing was hazed with black. It was hard to see anything. Trying to rationalize, Erik listened to the sounds of the other boys in the room. Snoring, one or two mumbled words from Sora, the quiet breathing of Riku. Red's dog-like jerking. Erik could feel the hot tears building up in his eyes. He wanted desperately for anyone to wake up and find him here, to comfort him somehow, but he was afraid of disturbing anyone.   
  
His momentary fear suddenly seemed to grow, and the shadows in his sight thickened. He tried to swallow, but his parched throat choked him. He had to get out of this room, go somewhere where he could have some light and a glass of water.  
  
He draped his legs over the edge of the bed and sat for a moment, listening to everything, as if debating what to do next. For a second he took into consideration that he was only in a pair of shorts, and wondered if he would be able to slip a tee-shirt on. He slowly stood up, and a wave of dizziness made the floor sway, making him strongly decide against the attempt of putting on more clothing. Trying to gain his balance, he made a long journey to the door, praying that his unsteady feet wouldn't make him tumble to the rocking ground.   
  
Gently twisting the doorknob, he slipped out of the room and into the dark hallway. Making a bee-line for the stairs, he took a brave step forward. Suddenly, the room began to spin, and his blindness thickened even more, nearly consuming his sight. Unable to see or regain his balance, Erik allowed himself to slowly sink to the floor. He laid out on the carpet and closed his eyes, feeling the room swing him around like an extreme amusement park ride. Gravity seemed to hold him in place, and his throat was on fire.   
  
Suddenly, as if from a distance, he could hear a small gasp and rushing feet. "Are you okay?" A voice said.  
  
Erik couldn't move his lips or even will his throat to make a noise. "I'm thirsty... I'm dizzy..." He screamed in his mind, wishing whoever it was would help him.   
  
He felt something cool touch his neck, and some incoherent muttering. At last his savior scooped him up in their arms and began to cautiously carry him downwards. He began to gasp for breath as he felt his chest shrink. The rescuer now hastened to take him somewhere, then suddenly stopped. He felt himself being set up in a chair. The cool wood pressed against his bare back, gently soothing him, although it did nothing to stop the whirling, black desert from consuming him. Erik managed to will his cemented lids to open. Although he could feel a cool breeze refreshing his eyes, he was surrounded in pitch black. Deciding it wasn't best to panic, he limply laid there, listening to the sound of someone rushing about on a tile floor. He could here the clink of glass objects being laid on the wooden table before him, and then the sucking sound of lids being pried open. "Okay, can you tell me what's wrong?" the voice asked him.   
  
Erik gathered his strength and managed to force out a murmur. "I'm thirsty."   
  
A glass was pressed to his lips, and he allowed the water to fill his mouth before he swallowed. Thirst gone, he could talk with some ease. "Erik.... did you overdose on those pills?" the voice asked, sounding angered.  
  
Erik winced at the tone and tried to shake his head. "How many did you take?"   
  
"Four."  
  
The person sighed heavily and quickly rushed about, getting something. After a moment of silence accompanied by clicking and ripping, he felt something sharp prick his bare shoulder. "Ow....what're you doing?"   
  
"You idiot. I told you not to overdo it. I'm giving you a shot to counter-act the medication. Hold still and shut up."  
  
Erik did as he was told, feeling guilty, but incredibly relieved. The medication spread through his body, lifting the gravity and returning the world to its stable, unmoving state.   
  
Erik felt his head being titled back, and drops of moisture gently dissolved the blindness, allowing him to see. He glanced around, and saw the obvious; he had been carried downstairs into the kitchen.  
  
His savior now quickly cleared the table and put away all the scraps of paper and other things while leaving him there to recuperate. Gently lifting an aching arm, Erik rested his bandaged hand on the table, barely conceiving the fact that blood was seeping through the cloth and onto the table. He looked up to see Kira walking towards the table with two steaming cups in her hands. "Oh Erik, I hope you didn't re-open any wounds. You have any idea how many stitches I had to give you?" She scolded as she set down the cups and returned again to the out-of-sight source of medical supplies.   
  
She returned with a small box of stuff and a towel, taking on the brisk mannerism of her mother. She gently picked up his hand to wipe away the bloody smears on the table with a antiseptic cloth before laying down a sterile towel to rest his hand on. She carefully undid the pins in his dirty bandages and began to unravel the grimy tape, revealing the layers of cloth and gauze underneath. "Erik...what were you thinking?" She said as she removed seemingly endless rolls of bandage.   
  
"I... I just didn't care. I wanted to end it." He said simply, not able to look at her.   
  
"End what?" She asked him, already removing the last layer. "Here, if you don't like scary stuff, look away." She said as she now fully exposed his hand.   
  
Just out of pure curiosity and that deadly need-to-know instinct, he glanced, then ended up staring at his injury. His hand was zebra-striped with stitches and several staples, all surrounded by dark, crusty scabs and dark red-violet flesh. "Wow... it was that bad, huh?" Erik asked, watching as she cleaned his wounds.   
  
"It was much worse." She said, moving almost mechanically to finish the job.   
  
Erik sat back and rested his eyes while she re-bandaged his hand. When finished, she once again cleared the table and reheated whatever was in the cups. She emerged from the kitchen and took a seat across from him, placing a cup in front of him. Erik pried open his eyes and looked at the foreign steaming liquid. "Go ahead and drink it. It's good." Kira prodded.  
  
Erik shrugged and lifted the cup to his lips, taking in the aroma of herbs and what-not. Taking a sip, he found the flavor to his liking, and took a gulp, letting the brew sear down his throat. For a moment he caught an aftertaste of vinegar, and his throat suddenly felt like he had applied vapor rub to it. "What is this stuff?" He asked, his voice feeling a little weird.  
  
"My own secret brew for seriously stressed people. It's herbal tea with just a little dash of wine. Hardly enough to get anyone drunk, but enough to mellow anyone out." She admitted, taking a sip from her own cup.   
  
"You're trying to get me drunk?" Erik tried to joke, feeling awkward when he remembered that he was practically half-naked in his shorts.   
  
"Yep, and then I'm gonna seduce you, take all your money and run away to some foreign country to blow all of it!" She said.   
  
Erik blushed at the statement and stared into his coffee, feeling shy. He waited for a moment before trying to steal a peek at his rescuer. Kira wasn't paying much attention, reaching back to pull the rubber band out of her hair and undoing her braid, running her finger through the glossy waves and curls before letting it settle about her shoulders and down her back. Erik smirked, letting a gentle wave of peaceful memories wash over his mind as he watched her movements, then stared into her bright green eyes. "Erik, are you okay?" She asked him.  
  
Erik blushed and quickly looked away. "I-I'm sorry. I just... I uh... you really remind me of someone."   
  
"As well I should. You know me Erik. Don't you remember me? Kira Kadowaki? The girl who lived across the street?"   
  
Erik hung his head, searching the table. "Yeah... of course." He said, hanging his head.   
  
"You almost seem upset to be reunited with your best friend after an nine-year absence." Kira accused, somewhat offended by his lack of excitement.   
  
"Look, I'm really sorry, it's just... I've been having a bad day... no... more like a bad life. I mean, I've been mauled by a hyena, attempted overdose, had a nightmare, nearly killed myself trying to get downstairs---"  
  
"Erik, what happened to all of the joy you used to have?" Kira interrupted, tired of hearing complaints.   
  
Erik sighed and crossed his arms over his chest, trying to cover himself. She had no idea what he had been through. He couldn't possibly begin to tell her everything. "The past nine years changed me, Kira. In fact, I'm surprised you even recognized me at all. Do I even look the same?"   
  
"Barely.... the younger Erik had brighter eyes, an adorable smile... and a little ring of baby fat around his face." She teased him, reaching out and quickly tracing his jaw-line with a finger.   
  
Erik felt a little unnerved by the sudden action, and jerked back slightly at the touch. Kira blushed and looked away. Her best friend had grown up considerably... but she was certain that somewhere in there was still that little 5-year-old boy... under a hardened layer of independence.  
  
There was a brief moment of silence... Erik sitting there, feeling chilled and somewhat underdressed in his shorts, Kira sitting across from him, trying to pry through his silence to get him to open up. 


	20. Doença

(A/S *authors suggestion*: hehe... yesh! More songs for you to listen to to get "in the mood" of my chappies! For know, with these angsty, yet somewhat peaceful and happy chappies *18-....heck, all angsty-ish chapters*.... Switchfoot always does the trick. Never heard of them? They did practically all the songs for the movie "A Walk to Remember" *and yes, you should see that movie! It's soooooo good!!* Try their songs, especially "Let That Be Enough", or "Only Hope"...or even "Spirit". But... for those of you who might like a bit more... acoustic and rock-ish sound, check out Lifehouse, and their songs "Sick Cycle Carousel", "Wash"-- MUST HEAR!!! And "Breathing". All these songs are great, especially if you *spoiler* want to see things from Erik/*Riku's future* point of view. Well... enough rant, more review!  
  
  
  
Chapter 20: Who prefers character development over plot?  
  
Sitting up on the stairs was a shadowed figure. Jerdania had heard the two talking, and was now listening in as silently as possible. Not that she had been deliberately trying to overhear them, of course. She had been on her way to the bathroom when she glimpsed Kira practically carrying Erik down the stairs. Something had told her to hold back, wait and watch. And now... her conscience began to prick at her. "What if I overhear something I shouldn't know? What if something I hear makes me think of Erik differently... does it matter? Heck... I should benefit in the end." She thought to herself, and settled in.   
  
Besides, what was Erik doing in his shorts? Maybe she should go ahead, walk down, and make the offer...   
  
"Um... Kira?" Erik was talking. She'd stick around.  
  
"Yeah Erik?"  
  
"I kinda feel weird talking to you in my underwear..."  
  
Kira gave a small laugh as if to wave it off. "Erik, you practically grew up at my house. Heck, my mom used to throw us in the same bathtub to save time and water. And then... you didn't have anything on." She teased.  
  
"Kira, jeez. I'm older know. That changes things. Although it didn't change you in the least."  
  
"What's that supposed to mean?" Kira asked, getting defensive.   
  
Jerdania tried her hardest not to laugh. This was getting good.   
  
"Not your body... I mean, your body did change... I mean.. not that I care... well.. I mean... it is well... I..uh... what I'm trying to say is that unlike me, nine years didn't change who you are in the least. You're the exact same Kira, from what I can tell. But... those years went a lot different for me, and I'm not the same little kid anymore. I'm a different person now." Erik finally managed to get out after a brief moment of embarrassment.   
  
Kira sighed and leaned back, crossing her legs, not minding when her foot brushed against his leg. She wanted the old Erik back. She didn't want him to change in the least. "Erik... do you think we could put some clothes on and go outside for a walk? Sound carries well in this house, and I don't want to wake anyone up."  
  
Erik shrugged, thankful for the offer to get dressed. Now that he was up, he'd never be able to get back to sleep, especially after a nightmare like that.   
  
Jerdania's eyes grew big and she quickly got up and slid back into the girl's room, barely avoiding being seen. When she turned around she bumped directly into Akirame and Kairi. "Oh... hi guys." She said, trying to not look like a eves-dropper.  
  
"You were listening too, huh?" Kairi asked in a whisper, sitting on the edge of her bed.   
  
Jerdania dropped her head. "Yeah, I was. I don't know why, though. Just... something told me to listen."  
  
"Same here." Akirame whispered back, sitting cross-legged on the mess of blankets and sheets.   
  
"You know, I wish Erik would just... get it over with and talk to us." Kairi said in a hushed tone, frustration evident as she fiddled with a piece of string she had found.  
  
"No kidding. I mean, I don't want him to keep feeling like he can't trust us. There's got to be a way for him to loose all that fear." Jerdania sighed, sitting on her bed to join the others.   
  
Akirame sighed and stretched out on her stomach, her eyes still adjusting to the dark of the room. It was practically pitch-black, minus the little night-lights that could be seen. She quietly wondered why two people would have such a big house. This lead her to think for a moment about her own home in Destiny Islands. Just a small, wooden (entirely, if not mostly) beach house, two rooms, one bathroom. Pretty small, but it was still home. She remembered how Riku used to live with them when he was younger, and how she and him shared a room. They got into fights, sure, but still... Riku always managed to be reasonable about everything. He taught her all sorts of things, like how to chase monsters (the nightmare-kind, that only little children have the ability to hear or see) out from under her bed by turning on the flashlight and waving it around to make the shadows go away.   
  
He'd also always been there when she had nightmares or couldn't sleep. Always offering a hug, then holding her hand as he walked out of the room with her into the living room with a flashlight and blanket, and there they'd snuggle on the couch until they fell asleep. It never failed to work, not even once.   
  
She silently wondered if he had learned to be that way from his real parent(s), or her mom... or if he had just been born with a kind and gentle heart.   
  
Suddenly she found herself craving that loving, innocent affection. It caused her heart to painfully flare, and she buried her face in the blanket to keep from crying. She didn't need to cry. Everyone grows up. But... why did she miss it so much? Wasn't Riku still the same, still just as close as when her mother had given him his own house when he turned sixteen? She had come over to see him every day, even spending practically her entire summer there. How her mother had come into possession of the roomy two-bedroom house never occurred to her. But for some odd reason... that house was familiar the first moment she and Riku had stepped in. When she had stepped in and took the first step on the grungy carpet, a face quickly flashed in her mind. She wished so hard that it hadn't evaded her just as quickly.   
  
"Akira, are you asleep?" Kairi's voice asked her.   
  
"No... just thinking."  
  
"Hmm.... about Erik? You've been quiet the whole time we were talking!" Jerdania whispered.  
  
"Actually... for some reason, I started thinking about when me and Riku were little. I really miss that." The tears wanted desperately to come out.   
  
"I know. I miss playing Pirates and House and stuff like that."   
  
"I don't miss being little at all." Jerdania firmly said.  
  
"Why not? I think being a kid is the greatest!" Kairi asked. Kairi was still a little kid in a lot of ways, mostly her enthusiasm and uncanny ability to work with children, making her a choice baby-sitter.   
  
"I hated being a kid. I used to be clumsy and a dork! I had braces... and looked weird." Jerdania answered, her voice humorous.  
  
"You were not! I thought you looked adorable with braces." Kairi responded.  
  
"Kairi, you think everything is cute." Akirame said, now propping herself up on her shoulders.  
  
"Do not! I hate bugs and crabs and lobsters." She said, sticking out her tongue, even though no one could see it.  
  
"Whatever. Well... I'm going to see if those two are gone yet. Then we can go talk to the boys." Jerdania said, getting up.  
  
"Ah, don't. I don't wanna talk to Sora and them this late at night. They get weird when it's late, you know?" Kairi said, flopping on her back. "Besides, I'm tired and I'm going back to sleep."   
  
Jerdania sighed. "Well, what about you Akira?"   
  
"I don't really want to talk to Irvine or Sora.... just let me know if they're gone, 'cuz I feel like getting some water." She responded, her heart still trying to prompt her into waking Riku up and reliving a day of their long-past childhood.   
  
Jerdania slumped her shoulders and quietly opened the door.   
  
Erik walked quietly into the room and stole over to his bed. Trying to silently sift through the stuff he had dumped on the floor, he found his pants, and was now searching for his shirt. While running his hands over the floor, he brushed against something thin, smooth and cool. Trying to see with the moonlight, he lifted up the lily he had picked earlier. Strangely enough, it looked like it had just barely been cut from the garden. Erik thought for a moment, trying to remember why he had picked it in the first place, and realized he hadn't a reason at all. Perhaps he would give it to Kira. It would make her happy, wouldn't it? He placed the flower's long stem in his pocket and found his tee-shirt. Then again... he could tease her by going without it on.... wouldn't she want to see exactly how the years had "changed" him? Erik quickly shook his head. What in the world would give him a perverse idea like that? Maybe it was how late it was. Most boys he knew did get pretty ditzy at two in the morning. Except for Riku maybe, who always managed to stay cool and level-headed. The thought of Riku having a sugar rush was unimaginable. Quickly getting up, he quietly laced up his shoes and walked out to meet Kira, who was waiting for him on the stairs.  
  
"Ready to go?" She whispered, dressed in jeans and a shirt like him.   
  
"Yeah, let's go for a walk. But we'll have to make it short. Riku usually gets up around three or four to walk around aimlessly and think about Hyne-knows-what."   
  
Kira smiled at the joke and began to descend the stairs, her heart racing at the idea that she was actually going to get to spend time with someone she had wanted to see for years. She tried not to give a girly squeal as she opened the door and the two walked outside into the strangely warm night. The streets were devoid of people, giving them absolute privacy. "So, where are we going?" Erik finally asked, letting the cool breeze clear his mind and eyes.  
  
"A place that should really help bring back memories. Just ignore that house over there. That isn't the one you lived in, if that's what you're thinking." She informed him, turning him away from staring at the abandoned mess.  
  
"But....no.... I remember specifically I lived across the street from you... this can't be right. I know I lived there. Why else would it be such a mess?" Erik said, furrowing his brows. Hadn't she mentioned something about living across the street from him earlier that day? Or.... maybe his mind was a little foggy from the medication.  
  
"No...you didn't. If you think you could handle it, I can take you close to where you lived." She said.  
  
"What do you mean, 'close'? Did I live in the backwoods area or what?"  
  
"No.... I was too young to really understand, but after you left.... I can remember that someone said something about a crime there, and they blocked the road to get there." She said, sweeping a strand of hair out of her face, biting her lip.  
  
Kira stopped for a moment at the curb at the intersecting roads, considering whether to walk towards Erik's old house, or towards her first planned destination. "Erik...do you think you really want to see your place? I went with a friend one time out of curiosity... the place is a nightmare in its own right." She warned him, not wanting to see the hellish mess again. The investigators had done nothing to clean up the mess left behind by the unsolved and forgotten crime.   
  
Erik stood beside her and thought for a moment. Why couldn't Red be with him right now instead of Kira? Red was the only one who would understand.... he had been with him through all the times Kira hadn't even looked twice. "I...I don't know. Did you have something planned?" he asked, trying to find an alternative to making a choice.  
  
"Sorta... nothing big though."  
  
"I'd rather do what you had in mind... considering this may be the only time you see me again for a while."   
  
Kira didn't want to hear that. She wanted him to stay.... she'd have to find a way to convince him. Nodding, she grabbed his hand and ran around the curb to the right, leading him as fast as she could past the dark windows and orange streetlights. Her lungs seemed to burst and she had to slow down, even though Erik seemed capable of running a whole mile without stopping. He wasn't even breathing hard. Erik smirked at her evident weakness. He had always known that somehow, she would grow up to be an out-of-shape wussy with an athletic body, but no endurance.   
  
Kira quickly got her breath back and now tried to walk as fast as possible, wanting to get to the dirt path leading out of town. Erik pondered her resilience and determination. She was quite spirited, just like always... but now it was more mature than just seeming rebellion. However, the further she led him from the house, the more concerned he was that they weren't going to have much time. "Um... when's the part that we start talking or whatever?" he asked, noting that she had now started into bit of a jog, and that they were now in the section of town where the group had first entered.   
  
"In just a moment. Sound caries way too well in this town, so I'm taking us somewhere quiet, someplace you'll really like." She said, now rushing again down the dirt path that led out of town, bordered on both sides by a white post fence that seemed to be made to keep chocobos and whatnot on the other side, rather than teenage kids on the unpaved road.   
  
She suddenly stopped in the middle of the path. On one side was the small "forest" of cottonwood trees, and on the other was a field of wildflowers and grass that didn't seem to end until they reached the mountains. "Hmm... what do you like better, Sir Erik? Forests or fields?" She asked, turning to look at him.   
  
"Well, my doting slave..." he started, teasing her back.  
  
"Slave?!"   
  
"Yes...I said my *dear, doting* slave, your *lordship* prefers the solitude of the forest at midnight, for he much enjoys the protection of secrets the trees provide."   
  
Kira rolled her eyes and lightly punched him in the side before gracefully jumping the waist-high fence. "Wow, you can jump pretty high." Erik said, now straddling the fence and climbing over, finding it difficult to use only one hand.  
  
"I've been in gymnastics forever, it seems." She said, confirming his suspicions. Just like her...  
  
Now on the other side, Kira began to lead him again. He smiled at the irony. He was with a bandaged hand and had just tried to overdose himself... and here she was, rushing him out into the woods. Of course, it was only possible due to great knowledge of magic potions and the such. He shook his head. He couldn't imagine how people would manage to live in a world without magic.   
  
Kira stopped after a while and pushed aside some bushes in front of a huge tree to reveal a giant gap in the bark, large enough she could squeeze through. She turned to look at him. "Come on in! There's a whole bunch more room than you would think."   
  
Erik sighed and bent down to shuffle in. She was right. The empty hollow seemed to go through the whole tree. In fact, there were strange, glowing mushrooms that grew in the organic walls like shelves, illuminating the hallow with a blue glow. Several fireflies slowly drifted about in the air like strange floating embers. The hollow wasn't empty, either. There were a couple make-shift benches, a rug made from grass and a bean-bag chair someone had managed to drag out from their house and shove in. Erik decided to take the bean bag chair after quickly picking it up and shaking it to make sure it was clear of spiders and bugs. He then dropped it and sat down. Kira smiled at his gesture. "We still, I mean... I still use this place everyday, except in the winter, but I always clean it out as soon as the snow is gone."   
  
Erik raised his eyebrows and looked around a bit. The place was unexpectedly tidy. He could remember a few things about coming here when he was young... but nothing much, just a couple glimpses of Kira when she was just a "five-and-eleven-tenths"-year old. "My birthday is June 1st!" She would brightly tell questioning strangers. If they gave her a bit of candy or a quarter, she would expound a few details about her mommy taking in unwed, pregnant girls and helping them raise their children and getting them jobs and homes of their own.   
  
Kira unexpectedly walked over and sat at an angle on his lap so she could see him. Like she had hoped, he didn't seem to mind too much, and was trying to make it feel more like a friendly joke. "What you thinking about?" She asked, wanting to have his whole attention.  
  
"Hmm... just about you when you were little. I keep remembering you saying that you were "five-and-eleven-tenths" old.   
  
Kira rolled her eyes and laughed. "I didn't understand fractions, I was just a kid!"   
  
"Whatever. I bet that you still say that you're "fifteen-and-one millionth-old!" He joked, grateful when she rolled off his lap and snuggled close to him on the bag.   
  
He remembered that after he recovered enough from his father's tormenting verbal and sometimes physical abuse, he would run... across the street to Kira's house. Across the street... for sure, it was across the street.... but it didn't seem to make that much sense now. Wouldn't people have been able to hear his screaming cries or his father's bellowing voice? The whole idea completely unnerved him. She wouldn't lie to him, would she? He was so sure...  
  
"Erik, look.... what was up with when you got those hysterics while your buddies were fighting?" Kira asked.  
  
"Hysterics? It was a flash-back."  
  
"Ahh... you have that problem a lot?"  
  
Erik was feeling a little uncomfortable, and he sat up in the formless bean bag, casting his eyes downward. "Depends."  
  
"Like....on what?"  
  
"What's triggering them. This is the worst they have ever been. I'm willing to bet that as soon as I get out of this town, I'll be peachy again."  
  
Kira looked up and bit her lip. "Really?"   
  
"Absolutely."   
  
"Erik....do you think it would help...if you talked to me about what happened to you as a kid?"  
  
Erik sighed. Sooner or later he knew someone was bound to start wanting to be his best friend and carry his burden... without the faintest idea of what they were getting into. At the same time, there was no way he wanted to go another step anywhere without dealing at least with few, easy issues. Maybe it was about time that he got rid of some of his problems, and what better company could he have than Kira? "I think... I could handle talking a little about it." He sighed.  
  
Kira gave a toothy grin before tightly hugging him. Erik wrapped his arms around her and held her for a moment.   
  
"Well Erik, I'm glad that you trust me. You can go ahead and tell me anything."   
  
Erik squeezed her and finally let her go. Only question was... were to start? "Hmm... Do you remember the time I broke my arm?" 


	21. At Last, A Little AkirameRiku!

(A/N: read the title. As for music... same stuff... but I really like something slow and sad for this... perhaps Evanescence's "My Immortal" or "Hello". If you like pop/rock better, try Rebecca St. James' "Okay". Never heard of her? She's a *official* Christian artist, but even so, her music is kickin' As a girl, I say that hearing her songs "Wait for Me" and "Transformed" are a must! Along w/ ZOEgirl, they're a good, clean-feeling alternative for Brittney Spears or Christina Agulera *however you spell that* especially for those of you, who, like me, happen to be a little tired of the sticky-sweaty feel promoted by sex-obsessed lyrics. Not naming any bands here, although I want to. *coughnsynccougheminemcoughgodsmackcoughdon'tflamemecough*) -- flames will be flamed. Literally. *takes deep breath* so.... yeah. I was up until 2 a.m. writing this, so I'm not sure exactly what I was thinking except, "I wonder if there's any milk left in the fridge."  
  
Chapter 21: At last, a little Akirame/Riku!!!! Hehe...   
  
Jerdania ducked her head back in and closed the door. "They're gone now." She announced before heading towards her bed. "You sure you don't wanna chat with the guys?" She asked.  
  
"Pretty sure. I don't want your boyfriend to see me in flannel pajama bottoms and a white tank top." Akirame said, getting up and reopening the door.  
  
Jerdania shrugged and tried to settle back into bed. Now she'd never be able to sleep. Too many things she wanted to talk about.   
  
Akirame however, could care less about what Erik was going to do with Kira this late at night. She laughed to herself as she noticed that Erik must have left the boy's room door open in his haste.   
  
Suddenly, she found herself confronting that incredible desire to be gathered up in Riku's arms again. The last thing she needed to do was embarrass Riku with the request. In fact, she suddenly found herself afraid of waking him up. She had never felt that way before.... maybe it was because he needed as much sleep as possible with all the work he was doing. But.... didn't they all? Or was Riku a higher priority, being the leader? She didn't want him to be the leader anymore. It was like... her being a commoner and him suddenly being promoted to a president or something. Now he was too important or busy to do one-on-one anymore. No, she wouldn't become a hindrance to him, obligate him with her petty, childish emotions. Finding that she had been standing there thinking this over, she quietly shut the open door and continued down the stairs. "Oh well." She said to herself, once again thinking of Erik and Kira's escape. "at least they decided to go outside and not on the couch." She suddenly bit her lip and quickly found her statement degrading. Did she really want to think about Erik like that?   
  
Mentally apologizing to her friend, she shook her head and finished descending the occasionally creaking carpeted steps. Trying to get a bearing on her settings, she spotted the kitchen and headed in, quickly searching the cupboards until she found a glass, and proceeded to use the water dispenser in the refrigerator. She took a large gulp and headed back to the living room to finish her drink, stopping when she spotted him sitting there in a shirt and shorts on the couch, staring into the distance. Or rather, directly at her, but his mind a mile away. "Riku? You up too?" She asked, feeling a little inadequate to look directly in his eyes.  
  
"Yeah. First I saw Erik getting up, and I was worried, so I wanted to follow him, but when Kira got him and the two started talking, I figured it'd be best to back out and let them settle it. Then you girls started in, and I couldn't sleep after that." He quietly, but a little drowsily said, completely relaxed now that he wasn't alone, but in her company. Sometimes it was possible to be around others, like Irvine or Jerdania, but still be alone.  
  
"Hmm. Sorry. I'll go back upstairs, I don't want to be in your way." Akirame apologetically said, feeling even more awkward, like keeping a man who had just worked for hours from taking a nap.   
  
"Not at all. I want you to hang with me. Sit here." He said, patting the spot next to him on the couch.  
  
Akirame gave a lopsided, its-two-thirty-in-the-morning-so-I-don't-care grin and sat down next to him, but giving him plenty of space. "So.....whatcha doing down here?" She asked, not wanting him to drift away in his usual silence.  
  
"Hmm.... dunno. I always go out and sit on the couch to think when I can't sleep. After a while I get tired again, and go back to bed."   
  
"What do you think about?" his friend inquired, taking another sip of her water.  
  
Riku smirked at the question. "If only you knew." He thought to himself before answering. "All sorts of stuff."  
  
"Makes sense. You, the great philosopher/adventurer/newest-cast-member-of-Baywatch." Akirame teased, then instantly regretted saying it. The wee hours were squeezing her normal sanity into jelly.  
  
"Woah, what was the last one?" Riku laughed, knowing that she couldn't possibly be in her right mind. She never could stay up late without getting a little tipsy.   
  
"Nothing." She muttered, blushing and trying hard not to look at him.   
  
Riku's smirk broadened into a full-fledged half-smile. "Behold, the early hours will cause even the strongest mind to collapse and spill forth truth." He dramatically said, fully enjoying himself.   
  
"Oh, shut up." She responded, reaching out to shove him.   
  
"All I got to do is keep you up for another hour, and you'll be telling me what sizes you are."   
  
"Will not. Jeez, you managed to perfectly ruin an otherwise quiet moment." She accused, finally looking at him.  
  
"Me? You're the one who says I should be on the cast of Baywatch." Riku informed her. "Should I take my shirt off and run down a beach before you make it official?" he further teased, grabbing his shirt as if to do so.  
  
"No! Keep it on for Hyne's sake! Please!" she laughed while blushing madly, taking his hands and pulling them away from his shirt and placing them on his lap.  
  
"Man, your face is sooo red."   
  
"Shut up already! Cut it out! You're making it worse." She begged him while hiding her face in a nearby pillow, trying to loose the idiotic grin that had seized her face. "Some friend you are." She muttered from the pillow, feeling unable to look at his face....ever.   
  
"I'm just saying that you made the comment that I should be on Baywatch, and now that I have your approval, I'm going to the tryouts!" He announced to her, grabbing the pillow away to leave her defenseless. "But first, I have to see if I can perform CPR." He warned her. "I need you to lay back and pretend to be unconscious."   
  
"Riku! Cut it out please! I can't breathe!" Akirame was on the edge of pure hysteria. Something about being stuck with Riku alone, and the mere sanity of her mind heavily damaged from a lack of decent sleep in over a week was overbearing. "Stop taking advantage of my lack of functioning brain cells." She told him, pushing him away as he leered closer.  
  
"All right, I'll let you calm down." Riku said, leaning back again and giving her air. He'd honestly hate to take advantage of her, just like he would personally mutilate any other boy who thought they could lay a single finger on her. She was precious to him.   
  
Akirame regained her breath and allowed her mind to stop playing truth-or-dare with her mouth. At least, for that brief moment, she felt that she had her old Riku back, the silent, overly mature teen that had nothing better to do than hang out with inanimate objects. She looked at his face, peaceful with his eyes closed, and saw the evident wear-and-tear he had endured so far. She found herself subconsciously tracing a long, protruding scar on his forearm. She quickly jerked her hand back and placed it under her leg to keep it from doing anything more dangerous. Riku's eyes opened when the touch stopped and saw her nervously drinking her water again. "Remember how I got that?" He asked, trying to put her at ease with him.  
  
"Hmm.... it was a Mi'hen Fang, I think." She said, tracing the rim of her glass with a finger. The wolf had been doing a good job of stealing her backpack and running off with it. Riku had chased the beast down and engaged in a rather brute fight, considering he had left his sword behind. The long gash from one of the animal's claws had been somewhat proudly displayed as he returned to them, holding up her retrieved backpack with a nod and small smile just for her. Such a flirt... but he seemed to take it seriously at times.  
  
"You risked your neck unarmed to get my goofy backpack. I didn't even have anything in there. Everything was unpacked in my tent." She said, not really wanting to take away from the deed.  
  
Riku shrugged. "Still a deed done."   
  
"Yep."  
  
Both sat next to each other in silence, just enjoying the other's presence. If only they knew.... "You know what this reminds me of?" Akirame suddenly said, breaking the silence again.  
  
"Hmm?"  
  
"When we were little, and you used to live with me and Mom. Remember how whenever I got nightmares, I'd wake you up, and we'd sit on the couch till we fell asleep again?"  
  
Riku smiled inwardly at the thought. Somehow it meant a lot to him that she remembered things like that. "Yeah. Sometimes I think you didn't even have nightmares, but you just liked being held by someone."   
  
Akirame blushed. It was true. She rarely had trouble sleeping, she just liked it better when she was with someone. She tried to recall if she had ever done that to her mom, but found that she couldn't remember anything like that. "I miss being a kid." She confessed.  
  
"Who doesn't? I miss being able to live for fun, and not have to constantly worry about how everything's going to turn out."  
  
"Yeah. Hmm.... I wish we could act just like we did when we were kids, you know? Just being all... cute and stuff."   
  
"Yeah, true. You look tired." Riku took the pillow he was laying against and placed it in his lap. "You can lay down if you want."  
  
Akirame bit her lip and looked at him for a moment, trying to fight off the temptation to do so. "What if I fall asleep?" She asked, placing her glass aside on a coffee table.   
  
"I'll wake you up if I have to." He said, signaling with his head for her to rest.  
  
"Mmm... if someone sees us?"  
  
"No big deal. I'll just tell them you couldn't fall asleep. What are you so paranoid about?"  
  
"I'm.... I don't know, actually. I just guess... I wouldn't want anyone to get any weird ideas."  
  
Riku rolled his eyes and finally reached out to grab her arm and dragged her towards him, making her give up and finally lay her head on the pillow. She lay there on her side facing away from him, enjoying the silence, minus the ticking of a nearby clock. She slowed her breathing and tried to stay awake while Riku gently ran his fingers over her arm, making her eyes roll into the back of her head.   
  
Riku sat with his head propped up with his hand, resting his elbow on the couch's arm. He found himself slowly slipping into oblivion, just sitting there while tracing patterns on her smooth, untouched skin. He smiled at the wonder that she hadn't gotten so much as a sunburn, as zealously as he guarded her. He had managed to keep her in perfect condition. He silently wondered if he had even so much as blinked when his other friends had taken a blow. Hmm... he'd have to stop being so biased in the future. He ran his fingers through her hair, brushing it out of her face. But for now, he would just allow himself to drift, here with a precious gem in his lap.   
  
Kira quietly turned the knob and opened the door. "Good, no one's awake." She muttered, letting Erik in before shutting the door as silently as possible.   
  
Erik took a few steps in and noticed the two forms on the couch. "Shh... someone's on the couch." He whispered, tip-toeing over to see who it was. "Oh my gosh... can't believe it." He said, motioning for Kira to come look.  
  
"What is it?" She asked, looking over his shoulder.  
  
"It's Akirame and Riku." He smirked, fighting the urge to wake everyone up to see.  
  
"Awww... they look so cute together. Look at how peaceful Riku's face looks." She said, crossing her arms and smiling.  
  
"Hmm... guess those two really were made for each other." He said, putting his hands behind his head.  
  
"Who said that?" She asked, looking at his face.  
  
"Everyone. Except for me, I guess... oh well. Can't fight it. So... should we wake them up?" He said, trying to cast the matter aside.  
  
"Yeah... I just hope they're not embarrassed." She said, walking closer to them.  
  
"True. But.... as far as I know, they're just friends. No biggie, right?" He asked her.  
  
"I guess... I know next to nothing about all of you guys, except now, I'm really glad that you finally told me everything."   
  
Erik bit his lip. He hadn't told her everything. He had yet to really expound any details about his past life. He had barely covered the basics of the tortured mess of his memories. He had no reason to tell anyone. He would eventually grow out of it. He reached out and gently shook Riku's shoulder. "Hey man. Riku, wake up! It's five a.m."   
  
Riku woke up with a startle. "Huh? Oh man... I'm up." He stretched and gently shook Akirame, who reluctantly rolled over and buried her face in the pillow.   
  
"Get up Akira! It's either very early or very late, but we got to get in bed." Riku said, trying to stand up.  
  
"Mmmph." Akirame finally sat up and ran her fingers through her hair. "Good dream too." She mumbled before standing and stretching. "Hey guys... what are you doing dressed?"   
  
Erik and Kira shrugged. "We went for a short walk." Kira said, wanting to get some sleep.  
  
"Cool...whatever, nice, yeah, blah blah blah, let me go to bed." Riku quickly dismissed, walking towards the stairs.  
  
"Sure thing." Erik said, following after.  
  
"Well, I'm with them." And with that, the three exhausted guests ascended the stairs and went into their respective rooms.   
  
Kira stood there for a moment, wrapping her arms around herself. Something about those three struck her in a peculiar way... almost like.... they were meant to be... She shook her head to clear her mind and headed down the hall to her room. 


	22. Laguna Loire

Disclaimer: Hey everyone, I got my humor back! Hehe...^__^ Anyhow, everyone else in the world had the Highwind airship in their story... I want it in my story too! I mean, come on. Did you think I was gonna use the airship from FFX? Wait... that's a great idea! Hehe... it needs a name... I'll call it.... the Horus Goddess!!! Hahahha! Take that, Tora!  
  
Chapter 22: Laguna Loire  
  
The morning was signaled by a sudden symphony of various alarm clocks and beeping watches. Groans, murmurs and cries of frustration could be heard as the teens reluctantly left their cozy beds and began to get ready for the day. The mob of messy-haired disasters all cluttered together in the hall, eyeing the door to the bathroom. Without warning the entire group leapt at once for the door knob and a fierce battle to scramble in the opening door suddenly ended when Riku gave a triumphant, "Ha!" and slammed the door in his comrade's faces.   
  
Riku turned after briefly listening to the complaints of his friends and quickly got the water to the shower running while he stripped off his grimy-feeling clothes. After finally stripping his socks off, he placed a hand under the streaming water to feel the temperature. Perfect. He finally stepped in and drew the sliding glass door shut while placing his toiletries on the ceramic floor. The hot water felt unbelievably soothing on his skin, rinsing all of his stress away for the moment. He tried to gather his thoughts while soaking briefly, just enjoying the feel of the hot water trickling down his back and spine. Not wanting to waste all the hot water, however, he made a quick job of shampooing and conditioning his hair *duh, how else did you think he got it so luxurious?*, and used a wash-rag to somehow scrub all of the stains out of his skin. Finally done, he shut off the water and stepped out, shivering as the colder air embraced his bare skin and caused goosebumps to cover half his body. He made a hasty job of drying his skin off and used his hand to clear the fog from the mirror while quickly pulling on his clean boxers and jeans. Gathering his stuff back up, he slowly turned the doorknob and peeked out. He couldn't see anyone waiting to crush him on their way in... shrugging, he started to swing the door open when it was violently pushed against him, pinning him to the wall as several people tried to cram into the small bathroom at once.   
  
Finally the brief struggle ended and the door was quickly slammed shut as the victor's rivals made a few last-minute attempts to enter. Riku slumped along the wall and slid to the floor, trying to catch his breath, as was Akirame, who leaned against the door clutching a small bundle of necessities. "Bare-Barely made it." She gasped out, placing her stuff on the closed toilet lid.   
  
"Erm, Akira? Could you wait to do that until I leave?" Riku politely asked, making the girl jump and whirl to see him trying to stand up.  
  
"Riku? Oy, I thought the bathroom was empty." Akirame said, somewhat awkwardly glancing aside from her friend's shirtless condition.   
  
"No, you just nearly killed me with the door is all. I think I better get out before you try to strangle me with a towel." He joked before swimming out the door through the crowd waiting outside.   
  
Downstairs, Dr. Kadowaki and Kira could hear the angry mob while fixing breakfast. "Hmm.... maybe I should tell them about the downstairs bathrooms too?" Kira suggested while reaching into the fridge to pull out a gallon of milk.   
  
"Downstairs bathroom?" a voice from upstairs suddenly asked, which was followed by the noise of a stampede racing down the stairs.   
  
Kira turned to see the desperate-looking Kairi standing in front of Jerdania, Sora and Irvine. "Where is it?!" the cow-licked Sora demanded, angrily waving a bar of soap.   
  
"...Hehe... um... here, follow me." Kira offered, placing the milk on a counter before walking out of the kitchen and down a hallway.   
  
Before she could even reach the doorknob to turn the handle, the guests quickly shot their hands out first and managed to all but rip the knob out of the door while scrambling to get in the doorway. Sora managed to use his hips to knock Irvine and Kairi out of his way and squeezed in, giving a trademark grin before slamming the door shut again. "Aww.." the last three protested, just before the sound of another door slamming caught their attention.   
  
"I'm done." Akirame announced from upstairs.   
  
The last three teens' eyes widened and stampeded back upstairs again. After the dust had cleared, Kira opened her eyes and saw that she was staring into the carpet. As she pushed herself back up, she could hear Irvine growling over Jerdania and Kairi. "Ladies first!" Kairi haughtily said, just before giving the cowboy and his girl the slip and stealing the much-sought bathroom for herself.   
  
Irvine and Jerdania looked at each other and sighed. "Great, now what?" Jerdania asked while gathering her stuff back up.   
  
"Save water and time by showering together." The mussed auburn-haired boy suggested, earning a tackle from the spunky girl, her crimson braid swishing in the air.   
  
"Excuse me lovers." Riku dispassionately said as he used his hands to part the two, clearing a path for him to the stairs. If there was one thing that got on his nerves quickly, it was excessive flirting.... especially in the morning.   
  
"So, where's Erik?" Akirame asked her friend as he sat down at the table next to her.   
  
"I haven't the foggiest idea where he got to. Jeez, with all the pandemonium this morning, there's no telling." Riku answered, his stomach cringing in hunger from the scent of pancakes and sausage.  
  
"Who you lookin for, Erik? I thought he looked brave and stupid enough to attempt to feed the cats without getting killed." Dr. Kadowaki responded, drawing back curtains to let light in through a glass-paned door leading to a large patio. Erik stood outside with an immense bag of dry cat food, and was trying to open it. Finally, with a slight grunt, he managed to use his good hand to rip a corner off. He then maneuvered the economy-sized bag of Friskies around and began to poor the food into what looked like a feeding trough. It didn't take long until the first cat of what looked like a bizarre miniature plague of all sorts of cats started to appear from somewhere, all dashing madly around to get to the food. Erik tried to wade through the tide of felines, somehow managing to slide the glass door open and shut it without letting any of the noisy fur-balls leak in. "I see you got a few more cats, Dr. Kadowaki." Erik commented, slumping down at the quickly filling table.   
  
"Hehe, yeah. I guess we kept just a few too many strays. That's the third generation you're seeing out there." The woman chuckled, placing a huge tray of pancakes in the center of the table.   
  
Once the rest of the guests had gathered, Kira placed a few bottles of maple syrup and butter down before pulling her own chair up between Erik and her mother. Breakfast was, for the most part, silent, as people were too busy inhaling the quickly replenishing hotcakes and sausages. After a while, mild conversation started as people went back upstairs and began to finish cleaning themselves up. Erik was the only one who didn't have to fuss over his hair, but just let the short blonde curls fix themselves. Kira helped clean up the mess left behind, taking only a second to quickly shove something into one of Erik's back pockets.   
  
Erik quickly stopped and gave his friend a quizzed look while reaching back to pull out whatever she had shoved into his pocket. Kira shook her head, and whispered to him to wait until he was alone to mess w/ the mystery gift. Erik raised an eyebrow and shrugged, placing himself on the couch and waiting for his friends to finish primping. He silently watched the clock tick and found his patience running a little thin. "Come on guys, it can't possibly take you that long to make a ponytail and spike your hair!" he shouted up the stairs.   
  
"I'm doing my eyeliner and helping Irvine with his lipstick!" Sora shouted back.  
  
"Ah! So *that's* what happened to my eyeliner!" Jerdania called out, suddenly emerging in her athletic beauty.   
  
The others soon followed, and with only minimal hassle, the group assembled in the living room. "So... we're supposed to meet Laguna and give him that package from Cloud now, right?" Sora asked, shifting in his red t-shirt and baggy blue jeans.   
  
"Yeah, pretty much. I have no idea where we're headed off to after that, though." Riku said, somehow able to hide the stress that was ripping him apart under a facade of steely calm. Of course, he had only spent half his whole life masquerading his feelings...  
  
"Let's go then. He should be back by now." Kira said, breaking Riku's wandering chain of thought.   
  
The group followed Kira out the front door, singing a choir of thank-you's to the kind doctor for taking them in. Once outside, the dragon Red joined them, involuntarily being loaded with the party's luggage. "I'm not a pack mule!" he protested as Sora slid a duffel bag around the dragon's neck.   
  
"Hey, you seemed to enjoy showing off last night." Erik commented, patting his friend's head.   
  
Red rolled his eyes and muttered under his breath in some ancient tongue.   
  
They soon approached the jailhouse, and quickly noticed the jeep parked practically in the middle of the street. A man w/ long, black braided hair and dark skin was walking around outside, carrying boxes and giving instructions to a tall, big man who wore a beanie and overalls. "Wade, those boxes go in the back office." The dark man said, lifting a large cardboard box.   
  
Wade merely nodded and went about carrying the boxes inside. Suddenly a hyper-active ninja exploded out of the back of the jeep and ran towards the approaching group of teens. "Heya!" She shouted, finally stopping in front of them.   
  
"Hi...Yuffie." Riku responded, remembering her name. "So, Laguna's here now?"   
  
"Yep! He's in there right now!" the short ninja responded, bouncing happily.   
  
"Don't she remind you of someone?" Irvine asked, elbowing Erik, who smiled and nodded.  
  
"Come on in! I'll let him know you're coming!" and with that, Yuffie ran inside the builing, barely dodging Wade in the process.   
  
Riku looked at the others, shrugged, and walked around the mess of boxes in front of the building. The hall inside was lined with even more boxes, making the already small building feel even smaller. A tall man with long, black hair suddenly stepped out of a doorway, holding several papers in his hands. He barely noticed the teens standing there. "Yeah, uh-huh... let's see, are you guys done unloading already?" he asked, putting on a pair of horn-rimmed glasses to see the small print better.   
  
"Um.. the boxes? I don't know... I think they're done now." Riku answered, looking back over his shoulder.   
  
"That's good, let's see now... Yuffie said something about some visitors that came by recently. Where are they? Geez, this is ridiculous. There is no way they can possibly expect me to file all of this paperwork...."   
  
"Um..... sir? Er...Mr. Loire? These are the visitors I told you about." Yuffie said, suddenly appearing behind the rambling man.  
  
"Oh...Oh! I see, okay." The man finally looked up and saw the group standing in front of him. "I'm sorry. Yeah, hi there! You can call me Laguna. What's your name, kid? You gotta be what? 17? 18? You've met Yuffie here, right? Are you the kids that caught those bandits by yourselves?"   
  
Riku blinked at the onslaught of questions and shook the man's offered hand. "Uh.... I'm Riku...yeah, I'm 17, we met Yuffie yesterday and yes, we're the ones."   
  
Laguna nodded and put his hands on his hips. "Well, there's a good number of you, no? Well, tell me, what brings you kids here?"   
  
Jerdania suddenly remembered something and dug through her jacket for a moment, and produced a manila envelope. "Uh, Cloud Strife, from Transverse Town, he told us to give you this." She said, handing over the packet.  
  
Laguna nodded and quickly tore open the package, and pulled out...even more papers. He quickly scanned over the first page and his eyes widened. "No kidding?! That guy is back?! What the heck..... so that's what Spikey wants, eh? Well...we'll have to see about that."   
  
The group looked at each other, wondering what in the world Laguna could be talking about. "So...what does Cloud want?" Kairi asked, walking over to read over the man's arm.   
  
"Ack, Cloud wants me to get hold of Cid Highwind. *The one from FF7...gonna be confusing* Apparently, he wants to send you kids over to the Kashkabald continent, and the fastest way to get you there would be on the Al-Bhed 'Horus' airship." *yes, the airship from FFX!!!*  
  
Sora's eyes went wide. "An airship?! Alright! We're going on a real airship!"   
  
Riku sighed at his friend's enthusiasm. For whatever reason, Sora always had an avid love for things that went fast. "That's cool. So... anything else in there we need to know?"   
  
"Not really... just this map and some directions for you... and a bunch of passes and whatnot... and an urgent request that you guys majorly stock up on sunscreen."   
  
Irvine shook his head. "Man, this is gonna suck. Please don't tell me we're going through the desert!"   
  
Laguna sighed. "Sorry kids. I have no idea as to what Cloud wants you to do. Supposedly he wants me to stay out of this for the most part. Something to do with a certain reckless incident concerning a certain person named Adel. But we won't need to be going there, now will we?"   
  
"So.... cough up the info so we can be getting on our way." Sora said, getting impatient, and also getting a sharp nudge from Riku.  
  
"Right, just take your time." Riku rolled his eyes as Sora folded his arms and pouted.   
  
"Well, it shouldn't take me too long either way. So, come on into my office and have a seat, while I'm getting hold of Cid you can tell me all about yourselves."   
  
Laguna opened the door and walked in, followed by almost all the teens, minus Erik and Red. Well, Red hadn't been able to come in the first place, having been burdened with all the luggage. "Hey, aren't you gonna come in? This Laguna guy ain't too bad." Irvine asked, looking at his weary friend.  
  
Erik shrugged, and followed the cowboy in. He just didn't want to run into any more familiar faces.   
  
Once everyone had crammed into the rather... small office and had found a chair of some sort, mostly boxes, Laguna sat down behind his small desk and picked up a phone, and started to dial a rather long and complex phone number. "So...where you all from?" He asked, tapping his fingers while he waited for the phone to connect.  
  
"Destiny Islands."  
  
"Balamb Garden."  
  
"Absolutely no idea." Riku turned and hit Sora upside the back of his head. "Ow!"   
  
"Balamb Garden? Would you happen to know Squall Leonhart?"  
  
Irvine and Erik rolled their eyes. "Duh. Everyone knows the infamous Squall."   
  
"Oh, sorry. Man, am I excited though, he's getting married!"  
  
Irvine's eyes grew large. "Lemme guess, it's that Vanchessca girl, right?"   
  
"Absolutely! Those two have been-" Laguna was cut off when a voice rang over the phone.  
  
"Yeah, I heard ya... Cid Highwind here." A gruff voice stated over the intercom phone.  
  
"Hey, Cid! This is Laguna Loire here. I'm responding to a request made by Cloud Strife."  
  
"Spikey? Man, anything from Spikey has got to be serious. What do you need?"   
  
"Cloud has a request that you give some friends of his a lift over to the Kashkabald area. Apparently it's extremely important that you get them as close to Cosmo Canyon as possible."  
  
".....Well, I'll see what I can do. I gotta drop off some cargo over in Luca first, but I'll be over there in about.... 3 hours or so. Enough time for whoever it is I'm picking up to load up on sunscreen and whatnot. Where are they at?"  
  
"Winhill."   
  
"Good, I'll land in the Bluffs area. I'll fly over the town so you can get a good idea where I'll be at." With loud click, the conversation ended.  
  
"Well kids, looks like you're headed to Kashkabald." Laguna cheerfully said, placing the papers back in the manila envelope and returning it to Riku. "In there Cloud has enclosed pretty much everything you'll need in means of directions. There's a map, passes to get into Cosmo Canyon's dig site... and about 17,000 gil to get you well stocked in supplies."  
  
The group's eyes bulged. "17,000?! Woohoo! We're going shopping!" Kairi shouted, jumping up and punching the air with her first.   
  
Laguna smiled at the show of energy. "You remind me of someone..." He started, rubbing his chin with his hand. "That's it! Zell Dincht. One of Squall's friends."  
  
Irvine and Erik looked at each other and smiled. All personalities seemed to come in triplets. Laguna suddenly made eye contact with Erik. "Hey...wait a minute. Don't I know you?"  
  
"Uh... I don't think so."  
  
"Hmm... what's your name?"  
  
"....Erik...Sandavol."  
  
"Erik....Erik... my memory's not that great. I coulda sworn I knew you from somewhere. Who's your parents?"  
  
Erik looked away at the floor. "Don't got any."  
  
Laguna sighed and nodded. "I'm sorry to hear that."  
  
Erik shrugged. "I was little, so I never got to know them. I'm pretty much over it now."  
  
"Ah... that's good. So... I guess you guys got three hours to stock up on supplies. So..." Laguna rose out of his chair and began opened the door. "Get out off here! Leave! Scram! All of you!" he shouted, pushing the kids out of the door.   
  
"Thanks Laguna!" one of them shouted before being sent out into the hall.   
  
"Oy, kids! Man... if they're the world's future, then we're doomed. Turn the lights out people, it's all over." Laguna muttered to himself as he tried to clean off his desk. 


	23. Into the Airship

(a/n: First, I'd like to thank all my reviewers. I read every single review I recieve... and I feel like a star *_*... and I feel loved ^_^. Anyhow.. at this rate, this story is going to be exceptionally long.. possibly around 40 or so chapters... so I'd like to ask you... do you want me to keep making this story this long, or do you want me to find a way to cheat and skip to the ending? Please let me know in your reviews. By the way.... do you realize that I've written over 150 pages so far? Hehe.. surprise! Next... I thank you for bearing w/ me, as I am horrible at keeping track of details. This chapter will hopefully shed some light for you.) Now, for some suggested listening.. if you like instrumental rock-and-roll, check out Apocollyptica. *did I spell it right?* Thanks Nate!  
  
Chapter 23: An unusually long chapter   
  
The group exited the building and looked at each other as Riku opened the manila envelope and pulled out the wad of cash, noticing how his friends were practically drooling. "Okay guys," he began, waving the cash in his hand and watching his friends' eyes follow, "this is first to be spent on upgrading our weapons and armor as much as possible, then potions and sunscreen. After that, each of you should return w/ at least 500 gil left, got it?" he asked, making contact with the glazed-over eyes.  
  
The group nodded and eager stepped forward to receive a healthy quantity of gil, just before rushing off and disappearing into the stores. Riku coughed as the small dust cloud settled, and saw that he was completely alone, minus... Jerdania? The sprightly girl gave him a huge grin, and Riku shrugged as he headed towards the weapons store. "Hey Riku... I've been thinking a lot about all the details we've gathered so far."  
  
"Really? That's good."  
  
"Yeah... I've been thinking, nothing makes much sense so far... for example, Sephiroth has been reportedly dead for like what, 30 years or so, just as long as Cloud strife. Plus... Shinra died out (haha, here's my first big mistake) about 20 years ago. Anyhow... what's Sephiroth and Cloud doing walking around? And why wasn't Laguna surprised when he heard Cloud's name? I think he knows something we don't."   
  
Riku listened and nodded as he opened the door to the store and let her in. "Yeah, you're right. None of it does make sense, does it?"   
  
The two looked around and spotted Akirame in a corner, testing a vicious crossbow that was designed to look like a dragon, and Irvine was beside her with a shotgun. The two spotted them and waved them over. "Hey Riku, isn't this crossbow awesome looking? I just got it updated." Akirame said, proudly displaying the large weapon.   
  
Riku nodded and walked over to the counter with her, gently unsheathing his sword and laying it across the glass display box. The shopkeeper soon took the sword and returned later w/ a large, highly decorative sword made to look like a flame. "Wow, Riku, it's beautiful! Looks like its an elemental sword."   
  
Riku lifted the sword, surprised when it blazed to life, engulfed in a flame. He quickly sheathed it, grateful when his leather scabbard didn't burst into flames as well. Jerdania herself turned in her daggers, and was surprised when she received what looked like a giant Chinese throwing star. After also upgrading their armor as well, they stocked up on potions and what-not. Done with that errand, they walked out of the store and went about their business of getting what they needed. Blah blah blah.. yadda yadda.. right, so anyhow...   
  
A good hour or so later, the group gathered outside and began to idly talk and scuffle around as they waited for their ride to arrive. Soon, what sounded like the world's largest hairdryer caught their attention. They looked up at the sky and saw what looked like... a giant bubble blower of sorts, floating gently through the clouds and heading towards the outskirts of town. "I guess that's it." Riku said, slinging his duffel bag over his shoulder and setting off towards the landing airship.   
  
Upon arriving at the airship, The group entered via a ramp that was lowered for them. The inside of the ship was rather comfy, and typical. Metal...metal... more metal... bright colors and the occasional Al-Bhed worker or jogging blitzball player. The ramp was raised again and the ship slightly shook as it took off. Two men, one with blonde hair held back by a pair of goggles, chewing on a toothpick, accompanied by a bald man in a mostly yellow suit, arrived to greet them. "Hey there," The blonde man said in a burly voice. "I'm Cid Highwind, and this is Cid Konnichiwa."   
  
"Uh, hi Cid... and Cid." Riku said, looking to the two burly men.   
  
"We two are the captians of this here airship. If you got any questions, just talk to my daughter here, Rikku." Cid K. Said, nodding his head to the blonde girl beside him.   
  
"Rikku? Wow.. two Cids, two Rik(k)us, this is gonna be fun." Sora said, folding his arms.   
  
"What, there's another Rikku?" Rikku asked in her high, girly voice, leaning slightly to the side, causing the two blue ribbons attached to the back of her tight pink shirt to sway.   
  
"Yeah, our leader is Riku." Sora informed, pointing to his taller friend.  
  
"Oh really, hi there! Dad, should I show them where everything is?"   
  
"Go ahead, me and Cid'll head to the cabin to set off."  
  
"All right then."  
  
"And so I said, 'but blow up the ship and all go down together." Rikku said, causing the group (Minus the usually quite Riku and sober Red) to burst into laughter. "And here are the rooms you'll be staying in."   
  
"What? How long is it gonna take us to get to the Kashkabald?" Akirame asked, looking in one of the rooms and admiring the set-up.  
  
"Oh, that's where you're going? In this dinky airship, at least three days." Rikku answered.  
  
"Three days, huh? I thought this was an airship, man! These things are supposed to go like, way fast! I figured we'd be able to get there in like, a few hours." Sora complained, putting his hands behind his head.  
  
"What do you think this is, the Ragnarok? Jeez, we have to go over an entire ocean to get to where you guys want to be." Rikku chastised.  
  
"Well, whatever. If that's the case, I want to unpack now and get a sandwich or something. I get dibs on this bed!" Sora shouted, running into the open room and throwing his bag on one of the beds. "Come on, Riku! You can be with me!"   
  
"You heard him, Erik, the kid wants you." Riku said, shoving the blonde into the room.   
  
"Woah, I thought he said he wante-" Riku shut the door and opened another, walking into the differently colored room, dragging Akirame with him.   
  
"Hey, Riku, why me?"   
  
"You're the only one out of all these people I can actually stand." He said, shutting the door after him. "Plus, being near you helps me sleep."   
  
"Oh, thanks, I think. Well... I was stuck with you in the hotel, I guess I can handle it again."   
  
"And I could really use a nap right now, and afterwards you and I can head back to the observation deck and check out the view." He announced, flopping onto his side on one of the double-sized beds, then patting the spot in front of him.  
  
"I..don't really think so, Riku... I, uh..." she stood there awkwardly holding her bag, trying to think of something snappy to say.  
  
Riku sighed and got up to stand in front of her. He took the bag out of her hand, placed it on her bed, and then bent over to scoop her up. "I told you, being around you helps me sleep. Do me a favor and give me just a mere thirty minutes of rest, alright?" he asked her, dropping her onto the bed and sitting with his back to her as he took off his denim jacket and laid down next to her.   
  
Akirame sighed and rolled onto her side as he snuggled closer and put an arm around her waist. "Riku, you'll pay for this someday, you know that?" she warned him as she turned off the lamp on the stylish bed stand.   
  
"Is that the best you can do? Before you were pushing me off trees and hitting me with shoes." Riku teased her.  
  
Akirame rolled her eyes and realized something. She really was loosing her reason to be as resistant to him as she used to be. Was she actually starting to enjoy being around him like this? If she had rolled over, she would have seen the smile, the real, genuine smile, on Riku's face. Instead, she closed her eyes and tried to think of ways to torture him when they woke up. But maybe just this once she would stay with him and not try to sneak away when he fell asleep, just a little guilty pleasure. When she woke up, she would allow the Snow Queen to regain her rightful throne and whip herself back into shape. Riku gently squeezed her and nuzzled the back of her neck. At this rate, her only hope was for the Snow Queen to become a communist dictator. Hmm.. maybe she would lure Riku into the airship's kitchen and then take a frying pan to his head. That would teach the boy a lesson. She tried to stifle her laughter as she thought of him falling over and a huge bump rising on his head.   
  
Riku, however, was already on the verge of dreams, his heart practically bursting at his first success of getting Akirame to actually do something he wanted. "Mission accomplished." He thought to himself. "At last, the girl I love in my arms. I could die like this and be just fine. Then again, she'll probably take a skillet to my head after this." But, as could be presumed, he could have actually cared less what she used to render him unconscious in her unreasonable fury. Frying pan, skillet, or any other cooking ware, none would keep him from relentlessly loving her.   
  
Sora dragged Erik out of the room and headed off towards the kitchen. "Man, I'm sooo hungry." He said, his growling stomach concurring.   
  
"Sora, I watched you eat like, twelve pancakes this morning. I only ate four, and I'm still digesting them. How in the world do you do it?"   
  
"Twelve, nah. I had sixteen." Sora replied, not stopping his run until he reached the kitchen's metal door.   
  
Inside they also found the others sitting around a table together, munching on sandwiches. "Hey Sora! Figured you'd show up sooner or later. You ought to try one of these, they're great." Irvine suggested, tearing another bite of his ham-and-cheese.  
  
Sora quickly ran over to table where the plastic-wrapped sandwiches lay, and grabbed about six before sitting down with his friends. "So Sora, Riku ditched you for Akirame, huh? Tough break." Kairi said, patting her boyfriend on the back.  
  
"Yeah, I know. What's so special about the chick anyhow?" Sora complained, hastily unwrapping a sandwich and venting his anger into eating, viciously tearing a huge chunk out of the defenseless turkey breast and wheat bread.  
  
"Hey, hey, hey! Sora, calm down with your eating, buddy. The sandwich has feelings too, ya know." Erik said, gently taking a bite out of his own.  
  
"It doesn't now." Sora stated, shoving the entire thing into his mouth and chewing.  
  
"Man, the boy eats like a vacuum. Why ain't he big as a barn?" Irvine asked, raising an eyebrow as Sora made short work of his second victim.   
  
"A question that has dumbfounded mankind for years." Kairi said, amused by Sora's overstuffed cheeks. "Breathe, honey." She said, pulling the third sandwich away from him and forcing him to take a break.   
  
"I don't want to breathe, I wanna eat. Give me back my sandwich, Kairi. Man, if I could, all I would do is eat. Jerdania, you would be my personal slave-chef, and you would cook all day in the kitchen while I feasted."  
  
"Don't doubt it. Wonder how Jerdania would feel?" Kairi asked, giving up the sandwich.  
  
"I'd kill him." Jerdania simply said, looking Sora directly in the face.  
  
"Woah, really? How?" Erik prodded for details.  
  
"Easy. Slip a little poison into his food, completely tasteless and devoid of odor. Knock the boy over halfway through his meal."   
  
Sora blinked and gulped before putting his half-finished sandwich down. "Um... you were teasing, right?" He nervously laughed, trying to get her to put away the dead-serious look on her face.  
  
"I don't know, what do you think?" The crimson-haired girl asked, her honey eyes unnerving him.   
  
"I'm finished now, uh.. I'm gonna go see what Riku is up to..."   
  
"Aw, leave him and Akirame alone for now, Sora. How about you and me go for a walk?" Kairi asked, standing up with him.   
  
"Sure, I guess. Man, Riku just ain't like he used to be. He and I were like, best friends, always him and me..." Sora started as he and Kairi exited the room. "And then all of the sudden he drops me for Akirame? Since when did she get the star treatment?"   
  
"Uh... Riku? First of all, you kinda forgot about Riku when you and I started to really get close, remember?" Kairi reminded him.  
  
"What? Wait....yeah, that's right. But still, I think that-"  
  
"You ever try seeing it from his point of view? It's so obvious that he's loved her for a long time. I think you should not worry so much about yourself, but whether or not Riku is happy, hmm?"  
  
Sora chewed on the idea for a minute, as if the thought had never occurred to him before. "Kai, you're a genius, and that's why I love you." He told her. "But if I actually cared about Riku's happiness, I wouldn't have ditched him for you in the first place." He joked.  
  
Kairi sighed and rolled her eyes. "Sora, you really are a big, dumb goofball."  
  
"A big, *cute* dumb goofball." Sora corrected her, putting an arm around her shoulder and making her smile. 


	24. Veni Veni Venias

(A/n: yesh, after spending a total of five days, from 8 at night until 7:30 in the morn, I have conquered *with a total of 67 hours, thank you* Final Fantasy VII! And, behold! Inspiration rings anew! Plus... I'm in an exceptionally good mood right now, no reason to delve into why. Music selections for the day: Apocalyptica/Metallica *not sure which band it is* "Nothing else matters." And...you have got to hear an orchestrated version of Sephiroth's theme song, "One-Winged Angel". Also good is Apocalyptica's "Of Wolf and Man".)   
  
  
  
Chapter 23: Veni Veni Venias  
  
Erik sat down on the edge of his bed and started to undress. The day had been considerably good, even though at times he couldn't help but feel as if he was being...watched. A small shiver ran down his spine as he thought of the brief glow he saw in people's eyes as they glanced at him. Red's eyes occasionally did the same thing, but it was probably because he was, after all, a dragon. Erik tried to shake the unnerving notion off and took off one of his gloves, hesitating at taking off the other one. Did he really want to walk around flashing his scars? Sora would probably---  
  
Erik's train of thought derailed when the brunette boy in the other bed gave a loud snore. Then again, maybe Sora wouldn't freak out and make a big deal after all. For a moment he felt sorry for the kid. Earlier Sora had been complaining about being ditched by Riku. Erik wondered how it would feel, to be ditched in favor of another. Then again, his entire life had felt like that. Erik pulled back the covers on the bed and slid in, reaching up to turn off the lamp. At least his life seemed better now.   
  
Suddenly he remembered something, and quickly turned the light back on. Reaching down the littered floor, he rummaged through the mess of clothes and junk, and somehow managed to pull out his jeans. He slipped his fingers into the back pocket and pulled out Kira's gift.... a bottle? There was also a note secured by a rubber band. He pulled the rubber band off and unfolded the paper. It was a message, scrawled in Kira's messy handwriting.   
  
  
  
*Dear Erik,  
  
Thank you so much for telling me about why you ran away. I wish so badly that I could take away the pain... but this is all I can do.   
  
These pills are suppressants. Whenever you feel another panic attack coming on, take only one. They should help you manage your emotions. Please be careful... they're highly addictive.   
  
- - Kira*  
  
Erik furrowed his eyebrows... pills? But....why? Why would she give him pills? He shook his head and put the bottle back in the pocket. Whatever was she thinking? Yawning, he turned the light out once again, and finally settled into bed.  
  
"Mizu? Mizu Tora, are you here?" the young Al-Bhed called out, searching the large cargo room for his lover.   
  
Where could she possibly be? Rustling, from amidst the large crates. "Mizu?" he slowly stepped forward, the sense of danger pumping adrenaline through his veins.   
  
"Veni veni venias." A deep male voice called out.   
  
From behind one of the crates, a tall figure emerged, entirely clad in black. The intense green eyes was the last thing the young man saw before the searing pain exploding in his stomach brought him to nothingness.  
  
Sephiroth grunted as he retracted his sword from the boy's stomach. "Ungh!" He took little notice of the gasp of pain the shocked boy gave.  
  
Catching the body as it fell, he carried it as he found a place to hide it. How many more of these incompetent fools would he have to kill before he could rest in peace? He laughed at the thought. He had done this before, except it was a ship at sea... back when Jenova had still been in charge. Lucky for him, Mother had finally died. Or at least gone into some sort of hibernation. Either way, he was finally free to do as he pleased. Just as long as he did a few last-minute chores for her. Then again, they could hardly be called chores. What he was about to set in motion would change everything, and this time, Cloud wouldn't be able to do a thing about it.   
  
Done stuffing the body away next to what he presumed was once "Mizu Tora", Sephiroth returned to the hiding spot he had chosen for himself, and hunkered down to wait, and perhaps see what his prey was doing. His eyelids closed as his glowing green eyes rolled into the back of his head... a smirk twisted the corner of his face. How he did love playing these mind games with him. Perhaps a nightmare, on a whim. "Dance, my puppet, dance."  
  
*The carpet....soaked with blood. He reaches down and presses his hand into the dark red fibers, a cold feeling gnawing his stomach as liquid death gushes up and over his hand. "He's.....he's dead?" a small boy's voice says. He grips the sword tighter in his hand, and slowly rises, his clothes covered with blotches of drying murder.   
  
"Indeed, he is dead. You killed him." A deep voice confirms.   
  
Piercing green eyes hold him in place, making it impossible to move. "But...I...I didn't mean it....I...." the boy's voice stutters.   
  
"Oh, but you did... don't you think he deserved to die by your hand?"   
  
"I....but....how...I didn't..."  
  
"Oh, dear boy, what are you going to do now? You're alone now."  
  
"What....what should I do?"   
  
"Don't worry....it's going to be all right. I'm going to take you somewhere far away, where you will be taken care of." The man stooped down and picked up the almost catatonic child.   
  
The bloody knife fell to the floor....*   
  
Riku jerked awake, gasping for air. Another nightmare? How many of these would he have to endure? He slowly sat up and stilled his racing heart. Akirame still lay sound asleep in her own bed. So she had left him while he had slumbered after all. A small pang dented his heart. Trying to ignore the pain the small act of abandonment brought, he stood up and stretched, realizing that he had fallen asleep in his clothes. He quickly peeked at the blaring red numbers from the alarm clock. 4:30 AM. Sighing, he knew that he would never get back to now. He quietly parted the curtains from the window, allowing the moonlight to flood the room. He stepped over to Akirame's sleeping figure, and took a minute to admire her profile, her skin glowing, reflecting the lunar light. His fingers gently brushed a stray piece of hair from her face, and gently bestowed a kiss on her cheek. Satisfied, he worked his stiff knees as he walked to the door and into the hall.  
  
After a few moments of blindly following the lights on the floor, Riku managed to find a secluded, roomy area that would be sure to inspire him until morn.... the kitchen. Unfortunately, he wasn't alone. Erik sat at one of the tables, staring into space with an unnatural look in his eyes. "Erik? You okay?" Riku half-whispered.  
  
Erik's eyes snapped toward him, and the eerie glow faded. "I'm fine. Can't sleep. Nightmare."   
  
Riku nodded and sat down across from him. "What's going on? You look real pale."   
  
Erik shook his head and sighed. "It's nothing... just dealing with some personal issues."   
  
"Care to share?"  
  
"Not really, sorry. I'd rather keep this to myself."  
  
"...All right. I can't force you to do anything."  
  
"*Veni.....veni....venias.....ne me more facias...*" a deep voice suddenly echoed through the room.   
  
Riku and Erik both instantly shot upright, completely alert.   
  
"*Veni....veni....venias....ne me more facias...*" The voice echoed again, sending chills down the boys' spine.   
  
"Who....who are you?! Where are you?!" Riku shouted, standing and searching the dark, barely-lit room for the source of the almost musical chant.   
  
"I....am....vengence....I...am the night.... I am Ratman!" The voice rang out as Sora tackled Riku from behind.   
  
"Sora!" Riku growled, quickly putting the boy into a headlock. "What the heck are you thinking?"  
  
Sora laughed uncontrollably. "You shoulda seen the look on your face.....priceless!"   
  
Erik sighed and buried his face in his hands. "Dear Hyne... save me!"   
  
"Sora, what are you doing up, anyhow? It's 4:30 in the morning."   
  
Sora gave a huge, cheesy smile and sat down on top of the table, next to Erik. "Actually, it's 4:47, and I was hungry." A loud growl from Sora's stomach concurred.   
  
Riku sighed and rolled his eyes. "Well, there's probably something in the kitchen, go look in there and leave us alone."  
  
Sora pouted and folded his arms. "Fine then. I will." And with that the brunette stomped away and into the stainless steel dungeon, making sure to leave no cabinet unopened and no fridge unsearched.   
  
Suddenly an alarm went off inside of Riku's head. "Guys... hurry and grab your weapons... something's going to happen." 


	25. Sors Immanis, Et Inanis

(A/N: Hehe... things are warming up! This is gonna be *good* for just the right atmosphere, Sephiroth's theme *a live, orchestrated version, not the midi-like original* is strongly suggested... just loop it so it plays through-out the whole chapter... other than that, anything that can send chills down your spine and make your pulse rise.. that works too. Enjoy, my friends.... enjoy.)  
  
Chapter 25: Sors Immanis, Et Inanis   
  
Irvine and Jerdania quietly sneaked into the cargo bay, playfully tagging each other and leaping about the various boxes and bags. The two insomniacs almost silently chased each other about the huge room, when suddenly Jerdania stopped.  
  
Sephiroth settled down and let himself drift into a rare dream. A bright green glow... voices calling... the earth screaming... Meteor...Holy...how had he survived? His heart stopping, and Mother's promise that he would never die... Cloud's Omnislash... he had surely died, and entered the Lifestream... the feeling of floating, his physical body forsaken.... and yet, here he was, not in any heaven or hell.... he struggled to remember....   
  
"Sephiroth?!" A voice suddenly cried out. He looked up to see a young girl's face, her honey eyes wide with shock. For a split moment, he was transfixed by her long braid, which now lightly swished about her waist...just like her...  
  
He quickly snapped out of his trance as the girl began to run... she would alert the others onboard.. he couldn't afford to be found out.. he wasn't nearly as powerful as when Jenova was still active in his bloodstream. He had to stop her. Rising, he spread out his arms and faded from visibility.   
  
Jerdania leapt effortlessly over small boxes, and took little time to jump and climb over taller crates. "Irvine! Run! Sephiroth is in here! We gotta warn someone!!" she screamed, hearing the sound of rustling leather and a clinking sword somewhere behind her.   
  
Sephiroth added a burst of extra speed, and drew his sword, holding it out in front of him, getting ready to skewer the girl. He was only mere feet from her, but where was the other? Suddenly feeling sapped of energy from lack of sleep (yet another disadvantage of Jenova's dormancy), he regained visibility to save strength. He smirked as a box came flying towards him. He effortlessly sliced through it with his Masamune, the contents scattering about the room. That didn't keep Irvine from landing a solid blow to the back of Sephiroth's head with a pipe.   
  
The cowboy dropped the weapon and continued to run forward as his life depended on it. The door was just a few yards away... but Sephiroth had barely been stalled. He was already dashing towards them, the sword slicing through the cargo in his path.   
  
Where they going to make it? Jerdania was just behind Irvine... just a few more feet.. She could hear the aggravated, white-haired monster growling as he leapt over the last box and was mere inches from them... Irvine suddenly grabbed Jerdania's hand and threw her ahead of him and out the door, leaping after her, just as Sephiroth leapt upwards, his sword ready to make a quick death.   
  
BANG! The door shut, causing Sephiroth to smash into it. Growling, he grabbed the handle, only to find that the two miscreants had locked it.   
  
"Jerdania, we ain't got time to straggle, let's go!" Irvine hastily said, grabbing the girl's hand again and now racing down the hallway toward the stairs.  
  
Riku, Erik and Sora met again in the hallway, accompanied by their trusty weapons and armor. "You guys ready? Where's Irvine! We need him too! Did you all grab enough potions? Erik, do you have your materia ready?" the leader quickly asked, receiving nods after double-checks were made.   
  
"Riku...what's going to happen?" Sora asked, knowing that somehow, Riku always knew what to do.   
  
The leader's eyes closed, as if he were searching for an answer. "*What's going on? Why did you tell me there was danger?*"  
  
"*Riku! He's here! He's on the ship, and he's going to kill us all by destroying the ship! You have to stop him!*" The voice shouted in his mind, causing adrenaline to fill his body.   
  
"*Where is he at?*"   
  
"*He's-" the voice was suddenly cut short by dark laughter.   
  
"*He he heh. Boy, you think you can challenge me? Try and find me first.*" a deep, ominous voice mocked him.  
  
  
  
Sephiroth used his sword to sever the hinges of the cargo hold's door, stepping back before kicking it over. Now free, he looked around his surroundings.. and spotted an emergency alarm on the wall. Perfect. He casually walked over, and brushing a long strand of white hair from his face, he pulled the lever. A siren began to ring, and red lights illuminated the dark, metallic halls with a deadly glow. Just the right atmosphere for murder. With a silent laugh he began to walk down the hallway towards his next target.   
  
Cid Highwind shot up as soon as the sirens began to blare. "What the !@$# is going on?!" He growled, jumping out of his hammock and racing toward the captain's bridge. He quickly arrived and found that Rikku, the other Cid, and most of the flight crew were there, trying to assess the situation.   
  
"Cid, thank Hyne you're here! Someone on the cargo level set off the emergency alarm!" A random crew member shouted, scanning various monitors.  
  
Cid growled and reached into his pocket to pull out a cigarette to help wake him up. Quickly lighting it, he let it drip from his lower lip and angrily pulled the switch to turn on the electricity. Nothing. "What the ^*%#?"   
  
Sephiroth smiled evilly as he replaced his sword. The lights, heating and other such power was good as gone. He found no reason to completely disable the ship. He needed the prey alive, otherwise his master would have his head. Rolling his eyes he quietly exited the room, preparing for what would assuredly be a brief fight. No one *should* die... but assuredly, minor casualties couldn't be helped.   
  
"Sir, the essential generator has been disabled." Another random crew member reported, making Cid stamp his foot and cuss.   
  
"!@$%-it, what about our main generator?"  
  
"No sir, the ship's power is fine. Someone is trying to set up an ambush!"   
  
At that moment, two teenagers burst into the room, panting and shuddering. "Sephiroth! Sephiroth is on board! I saw him! He's in the cargo hold!" Jerdania quickly informed them before collapsing on the floor.  
  
"What the #$^%?! Sephiroth? I thought that son-of-a-!@#%& was dead!"   
  
Rikku ran to the exhausted teenagers' aid, helping them sit up and offering them a canteen of water.   
  
"We gotta...we gotta warn Riku and the others." Irvine managed to wheeze out, trying to stand up.  
  
"You're not going anywhere.. I'll tell them for you." Rikku said, standing up and running to her room.   
  
Taking little time, she quickly armed herself with her glove Godhand, and quickly shoved a couple vials of hi-potion in her pocket. Who knew if she herself would run into this "Sephiroth".   
  
  
  
Meanwhile, the leather-clad villain was stepping into the elevator, once again cussing the lack of even basic abilities, such as levitation or phasing. Tossing his long hair back, he punched the button to close the doors. Taking a brief minute, he closed his eyes and searched the various holds of the ship for his target...ah, *there* it was. Completely defenseless as well. This shouldn't be too hard to do. Opening his eyes, he punched the number 4 button. They were on the top floor.   
  
Sephiroth tapped his foot in impatience as the elevator creaked upwards. So much for technology. His eyes widened when the elevator began to stop. Level 2? Someone was going to come in. Looking around, he spotted the trap door in the ceiling. Using his sword to punch it open, he hastily pulled himself up and lay flat on the roof, only to look up and realize that he was going to be crushed flat.   
  
He peaked down into the car and saw the five well-armed Al-bhed piling in. He didn't have much choice but to wait and pray that he didn't get crushed. Dying once was painful enough. The elevator began to rise again. He watched as the opening to the third floor passed. He closed his eyes and waited...when the elevator stopped. He opened one eye and looked around. Well, guess he'd been lucky after all. He rose his head and smacked into the concrete ceiling. Cursing the ship under his breath, he waited for the Al-Bhed to leave before sliding back into the car... just as the doors closed on him.   
  
"Ugh...please! Not now!" Sephiroth angrily growled, punching the buttons in an attempt to stop it. The button worked, and the elevator stopped and opened... to a concrete wall. Sephiroth's eye twitched as he formed a plan of action.  
  
Rikku continued to dash down the stairs, and suddenly realized that once again, she had lost her way... where was she? She looked around and spotted a sign. She was on deck 3, when she should be on deck 4. She gave a deep sigh. After living on this ship for a month, she still could barely navigate the maze-like corridors. To save herself time, she ran over to the elevator and pushed the up button... but instead she heard the noise of...scrambling coming from the tunnel. "What the...."   
  
With a whoosh, the doors were forced open, and a very, very aggravated Sephiroth made his entrance, his green eyes burning. Then he spotted the frightened looking blonde standing in front of him, heavily armed. Cocking his head, he put out his hand.   
  
Suddenly the girl's body was paralyzed. Sephiroth smiled. At least he could still do this. With a nod of his head, the girl almost mechanically began to walk up the stairs, heading towards the target.   
  
Riku led the group down the hallway, all brandishing their weapons as they headed towards the stairway. "Wait...where's Red?" Erik asked, turning to look back.  
  
"We don't have time for that... Sephiroth could be slaughtering people right now!" Riku growled back.   
  
"Riku!" Rikku's voice cried out. "I know where Sephiroth is! He's waiting for you!" She warned them.  
  
"Good. Where is he? We're ready to kick his leather butt!" Sora proclaimed.   
  
Suddenly Rikku's eyes began to glow, and she held herself in a fighting stance. "What the heck?" Riku asked, holding his sword out at his side.   
  
"You're not going anywhere unless you get past me." A voice that clearly wasn't the Al-Bhed's challenged.   
  
"Rikku, I don't have time for this!" Riku protested, angrily swinging his flaming sword.  
  
Surprisingly, Rikku shrugged and stepped aside. Eyeing her warily, Riku walked past her. Sora never took his eyes off her... but Erik didn't move. Something felt very wrong to him. Suddenly he unfurled his whip and lashed it out, wrapping it around her armed hand, which was just inches from taking Sora's head off. Jerking the whip, he pulled Rikku to the ground. "Guys, restrain her with something!" Erik shouted, running over to pin the struggling girl to the ground.   
  
"Here, I've got some shoestrings!" Sora proclaimed, dangling them from his hand.  
  
"....Where did you get those?" Riku asked, cocking an eyebrow.  
  
Sora gave his trademark smile and handed them over. "They're from her shoes."  
  
Indeed, upon inspection, the girl's shoes were laceless. Shrugging, Erik hastily took the long strings and bound the girl's wrists and feet together, forcing her to either sit with her legs bent, or fall to the ground.   
  
Nodding, the group continued down the hall...only to find that it was empty. "What... where are you, Sephiroth! Don't play games with me!" Riku shouted, swinging his blade through the air, which ignited with flames.  
  
A vision crawled into the back of the valiant boy's mind... A sword held directly over..... "Akirame!"   
  
The group took little time racing back up the stairs past Rikku, and down the hall to the rooms. Riku quickly turned the knob, and shoved the door open. There Sephiroth's silhouette stood, holding a blade just inches away from the sleeping figure. "Don't you dare hurt her!" Riku demanded, frustration welling within him.  
  
"You move, she dies." The villain's deep voice warned.   
  
"What do you want, Sephiroth? Do you want me? Fine then, have me! Just don't hurt her!" Riku's eyes darted from the figure to the open bathroom door, forming a plan.   
  
"You would do well as a ransom." The man agreed, pulling the knife away and holding it at his side, then putting out a hand, beckoning the boy forward.  
  
Riku sighed and nodded, walking forward, much to his friend's dismay. Then, without any warning, Riku launched himself across the room and, using all his strength, shoved the man into the open bathroom, hastily closed the door, and put a chair under the knob. Inside they could hear the man angrily growling and pounding the door.   
  
No one noticed that Erik wasn't there.   
  
Erik suddenly found himself drifting along the corridors, led by some unknown...compelling force. After what seemed to be an eternity of wandering, he found himself in the outlook room, a huge, mostly empty deck covered with windows. The pitch black was slowly illuminated as the moon peeked out from behind a cloud. A hooded figure stood in the middle of the room, almost beckoning Erik to approach.   
  
Mindlessly the blonde stepped forward, and met with the eyes of the stranger. What seemed to be years passed between them... suddenly Erik stumbled backwards, clutching his head and groaning. With an ear-piercing scream, he fell to the ground unconscious. Taking a moment to stand over the completely helpless boy, the cloaked figure walked down the steps and vanished. 


	26. Insomnia

(A/n: all right, let's take a quick break to regain our breaths. Quite invigorating, no? Hehe.... just wait, it'll wind up again, soon enough... just wait and see. Author's music selection:... this is a pretty quiet chapter, so quiet music is good. Perhaps Apocallyptica's "Unforgiven", or, just for kicks, the orchestrated version of the FFVII theme. Keep on reviewin'... and I'll keep writin'.)  
  
  
  
Chapter 26: Insomnia  
  
After a what seemed to be an hour, the movements in the bathroom seemed to cease. Sora had gone to fetch the captains, leaving Riku with Akirame, who had now woken up and was horrified by the details Riku was giving her. "Sephiroth...was on board, and you're telling me he's in that bathroom?!" She incredulously asked, hardly able to believe him.  
  
"I'm telling you, I shoved the jerk in there! Once Cid and...Cid get here, you'll see for yourself. You should probably throw some pants on or something." Riku suggested, noting that Akirame was in a tank-top and shorts.   
  
The two Cids hastily arrived, followed by Sora, who was toting a huge flashlight. "He's in there?" Cid Highwind muttered past his cigarette, which by now was half-burnt.   
  
Riku nodded, and took the precaution of making sure his weapon was drawn. Armed with a flashlight and a gun, Cid Konnichiwa hastily swung the door open. Instead of Sephiroth, they found a crew member laying motionless, but not dead, on the floor. "What the !@#$?!" Cid H. Cursed, checking the body for any signs of injury. "The guy's okay, just a little bruised. I thought you told me Sephiroth was in here!"   
  
"He....he *was* Sephiroth, I swear...." Riku stuttered, standing back in disbelief... did this mean that the vicious killer was still onboard?   
  
Cid K. Shook his head. "Ugh... we're gonna have to repair the essential generator and perform a search of the ship. That guy's bound to be here somewhere."   
  
At that moment Red burst into the room. "Guys, Erik is missing." He shouted in his Scottish ring.  
  
"What? Red, where have you been?" Riku angrily demanded, standing to confront the hybrid.   
  
"Aye, I was busy searching for Jerdania and Irvine when they ran off earlier. They're okay. But Erik is missing now."   
  
"Come on guys, let's go find him." Riku instructed, heading towards the door.  
  
"That's not a good idea. For all we know, your little friend could be dead. We need you to stay in your room, and our search parties will probably find him....or his body." Cid K. told them, now holding the faint body of the crew member.   
  
Riku gave a frustrated growl. "I don't want to find him dead, what if he's after Sephiroth.... or what if he's fighting right now?!"   
  
"Look, if you little !@#$*%$ kids want to get yourself killed, be my guest. But it's best if you just stay put so we don't have more bodies to collect." Cid H. grumbled past his ciggy.   
  
Riku scowled and sat down on the edge of Akira's bed. He stayed put until the room had been cleared, and only him and Akira remained. "Riku....what exactly...happened? You never got to tell me...why Sephiroth was in this room."   
  
"....He was going to kill you. I offered myself as a ransom... and when he didn't expect it, I tackled him into the bathroom." Riku explained, trying to relax his muscles.   
  
"You actually offered yourself? But...why?"   
  
"I..." Riku turned to look at her, searching for the words. When it came right down to it, he didn't know what he was doing... "I'm not exactly sure... I just wanted to see him gone, is all." He managed to say, wishing he could just be straightforward about his feelings for her... why was it so hard?   
  
Akira bit her lip. Not exactly the answer she was looking for. Sighing, she shrugged and scooted over so she was sitting next to him. "Riku?" she said, laying her head on his shoulder.  
  
"Hmm?" his heart suddenly did a flip.  
  
"Thank you.... for saving me from a deranged crew member." She said, closing her eyes.  
  
Riku gave another unseen smile and put an arm around her waist. "You're welcome."   
  
Riku sat there, fighting off sleep. After all, he did have to protect her, no? Sephiroth could still be in the ship, anywhere.. hunting him and his friends down... his eyes were winning, constantly trying to roll into the back of his head. A few hours passed... he looked out the window. The sky was overcast and preparing for dawn, the calm gray before the sun's arrival. He gently nudged the sleeping head on his shoulder.   
  
"Mmm...wha?" She sleepily asked, not even opening her eyes.   
  
"Akirame... the sun's coming up." He told her, trying to get her to wake up.  
  
"Mmph... I don't care... just....let me be here." She almost incoherently said, now hugging Riku while burying her face in his chest.   
  
Riku's heart was going a million miles an hour. With a sigh, he kicked off his shoes and helped Akirame slide onto the bed so her head was resting on the pillows. He turned to his own bed, but Akira protested. "Mmm.... don't go... I was comfy when you held me." She sleepily mumbled, trying to sit up.   
  
Riku couldn't believe his luck. Giving a silent thanks to whatever cosmic forces where responsible here, he sat next to Akira on her bed and gave the heavens a smile that outdid even Sora's as she clumsily climbed into his lap and rest her head on his chest.   
  
Life couldn't have possibly been any better. Within moments, both were asleep, laying peacefully in each other's arms as the sun lazily crept into the sky.  
  
Erik slowly awoke. He was still in the same room, but the hooded man was gone. The sky outside was full of clouds being torn by pink knives from the waking sun. What had transpired here but mere hours ago? He had experienced... truth... was it a window into the truth about his past? So many times before he had tried to remember what exactly had happened... why he had run away.. how he had managed to cross a whole continent to arrive in Edea's care... how he had met Red at Balamb Garden...   
  
Suddenly he heard voices coming from the stairway. A group of armed crew members came trooping up the stairs. "You, are you all right? You look pale." A random member said, rushing to his side.   
  
"I'm...I'm fine.. just sorta... lost right now." Erik said, feeling like he was swimming.   
  
"What's your name son?"   
  
"Erik...Erik Sandavol."  
  
"Erik, huh? Your friends have been worrying about you... they'll be glad to know you're all right... what are you doing here alone?"  
  
Erik paused for a moment before answering the gun-totting man. "...I was just...admiring the sunrise."  
  
For some odd reason, Erik felt instantly comforted to be in Red's presence again. After all....Red had been with Erik through a good portion of his life, and had always been there to support the boy. He quietly sat down on the bed, looking at the red beast curled in the corner, peacefully slumbering.   
  
No....suddenly questions began to arise in him... none of it really fit together... didn't he...didn't he actually know Red much longer than Irvine had? But... then how... a vortex of doubt started to swallow him. Why couldn't anything from his past fit together? Why did he always feel all this...doubt about the very things he knew to be true?   
  
One of Red's wings fluttered slightly, and the dragon gave a deep sigh before opening an amber eye. It lazily lifted its head and gave a loud yawn. "Erik?"   
  
"Yeah. I'm back." The blonde sleepily answered, hardly in the mood for a hearty reunion.   
  
The dragon padded over and leapt cat-like onto the bed, causing the mattress to sink considerably. "Where were you last night? I looked everywhere for you."  
  
Erik kicked off his shoes and leaned against the warm body of his friend. "I....I was in the top level... in the observation deck. I think I ran into someone I knew there."   
  
"Aye, you've had quite a day, haven't ye? You ought to rest up while you still can. Riku will have us up and going here shortly." The dragon suggested, unfurling a wing and bringing it over Erik like a blanket.   
  
Erik closed his eyes and sighed into sleep... it seemed like he could almost remember Red doing exactly this...when he was much, much younger.... even before he arrived at Edea's... why couldn't he remember? As far as he knew, Red was the closest thing to a father he had ever had since he was 10...  
  
Red had disciplined him, trained him, made sure he never slept in past noon on the weekends... Red had even been the one to tell him stories about his ancient dragon kin. He couldn't envision Irvine even once the entire time... how did it all work out?  
  
The need for sleep suddenly overwhelmed him, and his questions quickly dissolved as dreams came to weave new truths in his already disarrayed mind. 


	27. Heat Wave

(a/n: hehe, this is a cute chapter. By the way.... ORLANDO BLOOM RULES! LEGOLAS FOREVER!!! HAHAHH!!! Ahem... suggested songs: (just for those who wanna know what Akira feels) "Stuck" by Stacie Orrico! Otherwise, listen to "Trademark" by Relient K, and a good song for most *if not all* battle scenes in this story: "Go" by Andy Hunter. (it's the song used to promote the Matrix movie/video game..it's techno, but its got a great beat.)   
  
Chapter 27: Heat Waves   
  
Erik woke up to find the sun in his eyes. Squinting, he sat up and wiped the sweat from his forehead. When had it gotten so *hot*? His shirt stuck to his back, feeling grimy. A shower was *definitely* the first thing he wanted. It would help to rinse away his troubles from last night. Looking out the window, he realized the reason for the unreasonable heat: they were flying over a massive jungle, and just miles away was the desert. He moaned at the thought that the rest of the trip would be spent in this condition. His stiff knees popped as he stood up and walked towards the bathroom. Flipping the switch, he sighed and flicked it several times when the light didn't come on. Testing his luck, he stuck his head into the shower and twisted the hot water knob. Thankfully, water began to pour out of the faucet... but it was freezing cold. "This is great. No lights, no heat."  
  
"Is the power still out?" Red asked from behind him, stretching and yawning.  
  
"Yeah... so I guess I'll have to take a cold shower in the dark."   
  
"Just leave the door open, I'll be checking in on breakfast anyhow."   
  
Erik sighed and turned to the icy water running in the shower.  
  
Ten minutes later, a blue-skinned and shivering Erik came bursting out of the shower, cursing and rubbing his arms in an attempt to get his blood unfrozen. "H-h-h-hyne its c-c-cold!" he stuttered past chattering teeth, taking little time in throwing on his baked clothes.   
  
Outside the bathroom door, he could hear Sora loudly complaining. "NO! This is awful! Call 9-1-1!!"   
  
Erik stepped out of the shower to see Sora holding his head in his hands, kneeling in front of his backpack. "What's wrong?"  
  
Sora lifted up a plastic bag full of brown liquid. "My chocolate! It's melted, all of it! How am I supposed to live without chocolate?!"  
  
Erik shook his head and headed towards the door. "Don't worry about it Sora, we're almost to the Kashkabald. I'm going to get breakfast. In this heat, all I should have to do is shake an egg, crack it open and I'll have scrambled eggs."  
  
Akira gave a loud yawn and opened her eyes, startled when the first thing she saw was Riku's face. Slowly the events of last night came back to her. He had come to her rescue, saving her from a mentally unstable crew member. Maybe he deserved better than the treatment she gave him. It was so evident he really did care... suddenly Riku's eyes opened, and instantly met with hers. Akira's eyes widened and she hastily sat up, then felt dizzy as the heat rushed over her. "Oh man...this is miserable." She grumbled, making a bee-line for the shower.   
  
"This is like summer at home." Riku's voice said behind her.   
  
Akira's fate turned out no better than Erik's. Less than five minutes later, (a personal record for the usually slow bather) she came bursting out of the bathroom, freezing cold water dripping from her hair and onto her clothes. Riku couldn't help but laugh at the huddled girl. "Poor old 'Keera, I guess they don't have the power fixed yet."  
  
"Sh-sh-shut up R-riku." Akira hissed at him, shuddering while using a towel to dry her hair, wondering why in the world he had skipped the idea of a shower and was already dressed, and in a black T-shirt, no less.   
  
Shaking his head, Riku walked up to her and embraced her from behind, the heat from his toasted body warming her up. "Ack! Riku, you're gonna get me all nasty and smelly!" She barked, stepping away from him.   
  
Riku gave her a small smile. "Ha, but behold, for I have thought ahead." He then reached into his pocket and produced a bottle of antiperspirant. "I sprayed it on my entire body while you were in the shower."   
  
Akira gave him a puzzled and almost disgusted look... the idea was... ingenious, yes, but somewhat disturbing. Riku gave the grin of an actor and posed. "When I'm stuck on an airship flying over the desert without air-conditioning, I use Bob's spray-on deodorant. It works hard to keep me as dry as the Kashkabald, and leaves me smelling clean." He then thrust out his arm, proudly displaying the name on the bottle. "Bob's deodorant. Made to keep bishounen dry."   
  
Akira laughed and rolled her eyes. "You, a bishounen." She teased him, tapping him on the nose with her hairbrush before using it to de-tangle her hair.  
  
"Aww... that was harsh." Riku whined, dropping his arms to his sides.  
  
Akira smirked and worked on a particularly tough tangle. "Now, a true bishounen would be someone like.... Orlando Bloom." She said, dramatically clutching her brush to her chest and pretending to swoon.  
  
"Ugh, Orlando Swoon? I could whip that guy without even trying. All he's ever done is pretend to be a prissy fairy."   
  
"He was an elf." Akira corrected him, pointing her brush at him.  
  
For a moment, Riku stared at her... she looked so beautiful like that, her eyes shimmering with suppressed laughter. He was tempted to grab her and pull her into a kiss...but she was armed. That brush looked like it could do some damage if used properly. ".....right. Whatever. Well, I could still whip his pretty-boy butt."   
  
"I doubt it. Did you know that maybe a year before he got the part to play Legolas, he fell out of a third-story window? The doctors said he would never walk again, but he was out of the hospital on crutches only 13 days later."   
  
"Psssh." Riku dismissed, earning a hard nudge from Akira's hairbrush.   
  
"Don't diss the elf!" She warned him, waving the brush at him like a sword.  
  
A knock at the door gave Riku a reason to ignore her. Rikku happily greeted him. Apparently she didn't remember what happened last night. "Hey guys. We're going to land in Mideel here in a few."  
  
"Hey, Rikku....Orlando Bloom is a bishounen, isn't he?"  
  
Rikku gave a huge dreamy smile and clapped her hands together. "Hyne, yes!"   
  
Riku gave a loud groan and rolled his eyes. "What about me? Aren't I bishounen material?" he asked, flexing his arm to show off his build.   
  
Both girls looked him over. ".....nah." They both said, laughing at the look on his face.  
  
Jerdania and Irvine walked by, stopping when they heard Riku's question. "Riku," Irvine said, making the girls turn to look at him. "In order to be a beloved and idolized bishounen, you've got to have a look, like this." And with a smile, he traced the rim of his hat with his finger before nodding, making Rikku and Akira scream girlishly, and Jerdania punch his arm.  
  
Riku quickly pushed Irvine away. "I don't need a look! I have... a nice personality. I'm a really nice guy."  
  
Everyone rolled their eyes and started to leave, making Riku question what it was he said as he followed after them.  
  
They arrived in the kitchen to find Erik and Sora already eating, as well as most of the crew, which seemed to be having a meeting of some sort. "They never found him." Erik told them when Akira asked. "They figure he must've found a way to get off, because they searched thoroughly, and no one was killed."   
  
"....is that a good thing or a bad thing? I mean..." Jerdania quickly lowered her voice. "He's after one of us, right?"  
  
Riku sat back and sighed. "Well... it has to have something to do with my scar, and everything else that's been going on lately. It just makes sense."  
  
After eating and re-packing, the group was more than ready to get off of the flying toaster. With a great shout of relief, they ran off of the airship as soon as it landed on the outskirts of the jungle. "Well, take care you kids." Cid Highwind told them as they walked down the ramp. "If you ever need any help, use this to contact me." He told them, throwing them what resembled a cell phone. And with a final wave and round of good-byes, the airship departed.   
  
"Come on guys, let's hit Mideel." Riku said, shouldering his bag and setting down the marked path leading into the dense foliage.   
  
  
  
The path proved to be more difficult than first thought. There were giant roots from the trees sticking up out of the ground, various types of biting bugs, and the creepy feeling that they were being watched. Riku's eyes constantly darted back and forth, searching the jungle from unfriendly monsters. Suddenly a shiver ran up his spine, making him stop in his tracks... a green flash in the corner of his eye made him sharply turn his head. Another flash, but now from the other side of the road. The other members of the group suddenly stepped up behind him, huddling together and searching the area. With a great leap, the enemy made itself known: a leopard, and behind it, watching from a giant toadstool, were three green frogs.   
  
Riku immediately drew his weapon, which brightly burst into flames. He swung it in front of him, making the leopard give a loud growl and lunge at him. Irvine quickly whipped out his shotgun and took aim. BANG! The Leopard gave a loud hiss and turned towards him, despite its wound which bleed profusely.   
  
Jerdania rushed in from behind and flung her giant throwing star like a frisbee, which flew at the attacking cat and dealt a good deal of damage to it's side before retreating back to her hand, stained dark red. Riku then raised his sword for the finishing blow, and slashed the beasts' side, effectively slicing it's skin open. The leopard screamed and limped off into the forest, most likely to die.   
  
Satisfied, the group eyed the suspicious frogs. "What about them?" Jerdania asked, ready to deal out another whipping.   
  
Riku shook his head. "They're just frogs. I don't think they pose any real threat." He said, trying to shake off the eerie feeling as they continued to stare at them.  
  
The group shrugged and walked past the giant toadstool, unnerved when the frogs turned around to watch them go. Akira quickly stepped forward and walked next to Riku for assurance. When she looked back, the amphibians were gone, which didn't make her feel any less nervous.   
  
A few yards later, another frog sat in the middle of the path, two more jumping out from the jungle to join it. "...What the heck?" Sora asked, stepping back when the one in the middle hopped forward.  
  
Riku frowned and bent over to pick it up. "It's just a pathetic little frog. What's it gonna do to us?" He mocked, startled when the kitten-sized amphibian reached up with its little froggy hands, pulled his head down by his hair, and bestowed a kiss upon him before jumping back down to the ground and turned to look at the disgusted and shocked teen.  
  
"Ha! Looks like your frog friend has a crush on you, Riku." Sora laughed.   
  
Riku opened his mouth to respond, but all that came out was a loud croak. His eyes widened as his skin began to turn dark green, and everything seemed to grow huge, followed by a sudden craving for insects.   
  
"Omigosh!" Akira shouted, bending down to inspect the frog version of Riku.   
  
Frog-Riku gave a croak and tried to hop away. "No you don't." Akira said, quickly scooping him up.   
  
The other two frogs on the path suddenly hopped forward, making the group scream and make a run for it. Another frog appeared from the jungle and made short work of Sora, and soon Erik and Irvine became victims of the kissing frogs. Akira, Jerdania and Kairi all screamed and stood back-to-back, holding their weapons in front of them. To their surprise, the frogs retreated to the jungle, minus their frog-ified friends. Sighing, the girls scooped up their friends and looked at each other. "Now what?" Kairi asked, grossed out when her frog snatched a passing butterfly with its tongue and consumed it.  
  
"We need to get them to Mideel. It can't be too much further. Come on girls, we can handle ourselves. We've got Red.....wait, no we don't." Akira said, hearing the loud cry behind them, then turning to see the bright red frog sitting in his place.   
  
Kairi bent over and scooped up the bright red amphibian. "So....I guess I've got Red and... this has got to be Sora, he's so cute." She said with a smile, making the more brown-colored frog roll its eyes.  
  
"Well girls, lets get out of here, lest any frogs come after us." Akira said.  
  
The frog in her hands ribbitted in agreement, then turned to face the path. With a nod, the girls tucked their friends safely away and continued down the path. 


	28. Kiss the Frogs

(A/N: let's see.. like Ska and punk? Definitely listen to Five Iron Frenzy, they're awesome, especially their latest CD "Cheeses of Nazareth")   
  
Chapter 28: Kiss the Frogs  
  
Mideel turned out to be a rather small village, the houses made out of wooden planks most likely made from the local flora. Locals went about their business calmly, and it seemed to them that girls rushing in frantically with their pockets and backpacks croaking was a common event. "Didn't pack any maiden's kisses, eh?" A local asked them, making them stop and turn their heads.   
  
"A maiden's...kiss?" Akira asked.  
  
"Of course, the only cure for the frog spell is a maiden's kiss... you can either buy them, or if you happen to be a maiden yourself..." the man trailed off, hinting at the obvious.   
  
"Eeew!" Kairi exclaimed, sticking out her tongue.   
  
The frog in her pocket, evidently Sora, loudly protested with a croak.   
  
"Well....what exactly makes a person a maiden?" Jerdania asked.  
  
"A maiden...is a girl whose heart is pure and intentions are good."  
  
"Uh-huh....well...I think that would apply to all of us, right?" Akira asked, turning to look at the other two.  
  
Jerdania and Kairi quietly nodded, biting their lips and considering whether or not they were up to the task of...kissing frogs. "Um.. where can we *buy* these maiden's kisses?" Kairi asked, wanting to back out.  
  
"Over in the house at the end of the village. Jason always carries them."  
  
The girls nodded to each other and headed down the dirt road, and soon reached the two-story wooden building. Inside a man stood behind a small display case, sitting back in a chair and apparently asleep. "Ah, that must be a maiden's kiss." Jerdania said, pointing out the white handkerchief with a bright red lip-stick mark on it.   
  
"Agh! 3,000 gil?! We can't afford that!" Akira exclaimed, fingering the small pouch of money in her pocket.   
  
The red-headed store manager somehow managed to sleep through the short and loud argument that ensued.  
  
"I don't care, I am *not* kissing a frog!"  
  
"They're just our friends!"  
  
"Oh yeah? How do you know that *we* won't turn into frogs?"   
  
"We're...maidens. I think. That must make us invulnerable to the curse."  
  
"Spell."  
  
"Whatever."  
  
"So....go ahead and buy at least a couple of the things!"  
  
"We can't afford it! Riku wouldn't have us buy them! We're gonna have to do this the hard way girls."  
  
"Aww...fine then."  
  
And with that the issue was settled... and the girls rather reluctantly stepped back outside. "So...where are we gonna do this?"  
  
Akira thought about it for a second. "Well...we could just go back into the store...that guy looked like he could sleep through anything."  
  
The girls nodded and went back inside. "So....okay, who's first?"  
  
Akira gave a sigh. "As the temporary leader, I'll do it..." she reached into her pocket and pulled out one of the frogs. "I wish I knew which one this was." She thought to herself as she grimaced and pulled her lips together for a kiss.   
  
As quickly as possible she pecked the frog on the head and there was a loud POOF and a puff of smoke. When the small cloud wafted away, Irvine stood in the frog's place, looking rather alarmed. Akira gave a loud "Eew!" and wiped her lips with her sleeve. "Man, I do *not* want to find out which frogs I got." Kairi said.  
  
"Too bad, you're next." Akira said, shoving Irvine towards Jerdania.  
  
"Why me?"  
  
"Because I said so."  
  
"Dang, you sound just like Riku!"  
  
"Shut up and start kissing!"   
  
"Um...what exactly is going on here?" Irvine asked, raising his hand.  
  
"Shut up!" the girls all shouted back at him, making him back off into a corner.   
  
Kairi took out the frog she had presumed was Sora, and rather skeptically held it in her hands. "Well... here's to not having the cash to do this properly." And with that she hastily pressed her lips against the frog's head.   
  
POOF! The smoke cleared away and.... Red hastily stepped back, apparently dizzy. "Man, this sucks." Jerdania said, taking out her own frog.   
  
"Do you have to?" Irvine asked her.  
  
"Well...we *could* just leave them as frogs.."  
  
"RIBBIT!" her frog screamed at her.   
  
"Fine then, fine! I'll pucker up. Whoever you are.... I hate you." She said to the snarling amphibian.   
  
Smooch! POOF! Ta-dah! Sora stood there scratching his head and looking around. "I didn't just eat a butterfly earlier, did I?" He asked, looking at the girls.   
  
Akira mentally made a note... Sora, Irvine and Red were all back... so that meant that up next was either Erik....or Riku. She gulped and looked at the others. "Uhm... who has the other frog?" She asked them.  
  
Jerdania nodded to her and displayed her golden-colored friend. "I'm willing to bet this is Erik. I mean... similarities in color, right? It even has his eyes!"   
  
"Yeah, and that Irvine-colored frog was Red!" Akira reminded her.   
  
The frog in Akira's pocket suddenly climbed out and hopped into her hand and looked up at her with stunningly blue-green eyes, nuzzling her thumb with its snout. She groaned and dropped her shoulders. "Oh yeah, this is definitely Riku."   
  
The frog happily croaked, as if to say, "Duh!"   
  
"Oh, Akira... he looks eager." Kairi teased, making Akira's face turn bright red.   
  
"Shut up!"   
  
Irvine laughed. "Come on darlin', don't keep your prince waitin'."   
  
"I should have fed you to a cat when you were still a frog!" Akira shouted back at him.   
  
By now, Jerdania had already made short work of her own frog, tired of waiting while Akira stalled. POOF. Ta-dah-dah! And sure enough, Erik stumbled back, coughing and blinking.   
  
"There's Erik, now come on Akira! Kiss the stupid frog! We do, after all, need our leader." Kairi said.  
  
Erik looked puzzled. "What's going on?"  
  
Jerdania sighed. "You boys got turned into frogs.. and kissing you was the only cure. Akira's got hold of Riku, and she refuses to get it over with."  
  
Erik raised his eyebrows and looked at the reluctant girl. Suddenly he smiled. "Come on, Akira. Be a good sport."   
  
Akira swirled around to look at him. "You too?"  
  
Erik nodded. Akira sighed and looked at the affectionate frog in her hands. "Well... something always told me that one day something bizarre would happen like this."   
  
And with a shrug, she leaned forward and ever so gently pecked the frog's head with her lips. There was a loud POOF! And the trademark cloud of smoke rose, shrouding both frog and Akira.   
  
She felt a pair of arms slowly wrap around her, and the feel of silken lips pressing gently against hers. She froze for a moment, unsure of what to think. She opened an eye, and found herself staring into a pair of closed, dark-lashed eyes. She could feel his lips spreading into a smile, and for a moment, her heart melted...Snow Queen and all. She slowly raised a hand and placed it on the back of his neck, and suddenly dug her nails in and jerked his head back, and began to scream at him in their native island tongue.  
  
Irvine quickly looked to Sora. "What the heck is she saying?"  
  
Sora blinked and his eyes darted around as he thought. "Uhh... Riku, you moron... how dare you without my permission?"   
  
"Ahh... that makes sense."  
  
And thus Akira, she did beat him severely, making sure Riku learned his lesson. Never, ever kiss the Snow Queen without asking first. 


	29. Grains of Sand

(A/N: Alright... I know I've been gone for a really  
  
long time... and I do have a good excuse.. it's just that I don't want to really talk about it. The point is, I'm back, I'm bad... and this is the chapter I wrote to make up for it.)   
  
Chapter 29: Grains of Sand  
  
Riku rubbed his sore arms as they trekked through the jungle, heading towards the desert. "Geez Akira, why did you have to hit so hard?"  
  
Akira sighed and looked at him. "Because.. I have to stand for myself. Prove to you that I'm in control of what happens to me. And hopefully now you learned to not mess with me anymore."  
  
Riku mumbled under his breath. There for a while he had been so sure that she was finally warming up to him. Sure, he had stepped out on a limb by kissing her... but not only had the limb broken, but he had hit nearly every branch on the way down. He stole a glance at her out of the corner of his eyes, and felt the longing in his heart increase.   
  
Finally, after a few hours of stumbling over branches, slipping through vines and the occasional frog, the thick, dark green foliage gave way to endless white sand. The group all quickly made sure to lather up the sunscreen before venturing out any further. Sora looked out at the endless desert and shook his head. "We're gonna get lost out here!" he loudly said.  
  
Riku tried to not jump up and strangle his friend. "One of the villagers in town said that there should be a chocobo caravan out here... it's supposed to arrive here anytime now. So why don't you just sit down and relax?"  
  
Sora loudly sighed and sat down, checking his watch and surveying the landscape. Boredom quickly overtook him, and he dropped onto his back and stared at the clear, deep blue sky.   
  
What seemed to be hours slowly passed by, until the sound of rattling pans and chirping could be heard. Erik stood up and looked out over the sand dunes, and saw a long line of Chocobos parading over the sand, heavily ladden with all sorts of goods. "There it is!" he told the others, quickly pointing.  
  
The caravan approached them somewhat slowly, and finally came to a halt just outside the jungle. A tall man clad in a black robe approached them, and said something in jibberish. When he saw the confused looks on their faces, he smiled and finally spoke in English. "I'm sorry.. it's been a long time since I've seen anyone other than my own caravan workers. I'm Harid, at your service."  
  
Riku smiled at the nomad's politeness. "I need to use your Chocobos to cross the desert." He reached into his pocket, ready to retrieve his wallet.  
  
"You plan on wandering out there with just chocobos? You'll get lost in no time!" Harid laughed.  
  
"See? I told you!" Sora proudly crowed.  
  
"My friend, my caravan only comes here to pick up new goods to trade. Tell me, where are you headed? Perhaps you could join me and my family when we cross back over the dunes."  
  
Riku felt overwhelmed, even a little suspicious of the nomad's politeness. But, he couldn't turn down the opportunity to cross safely. "We're headed to Cosmo Canyon."   
  
Harid smiled, his dark eyes shining. "Ah yes, Cosmo Canyon! We will be headed in that direction! I could use extra help with my caravan... you could help gaurd the Chocobos from thieves and wild animals."  
  
Jerdania, being the smartest person in the group, instantly felt unsafe, and tugged at Riku's sleeve, getting him to step aside for a moment. She spoke in a hushed tone. "Riku.. I don't like this guy.. he's being too generous."  
  
"I know.. but what choice have we got? It's better to go with someone who knows the land than to wonder blindly."  
  
Jerdania had to see his point. Maybe Harid wasn't trying to trick them, and was just being genuinely generous. Riku walked back to the waiting man. "Alright.. we'll join your caravan."  
  
Harid smiled heartily. "Good! Now.. I must go with my men into Mideel to get the goods. You can come help us retrieve them."   
  
And with that, the group found themselves walking back into the jungle and towards the village.. except they didn't head directly towards the village, but instead took a side path that led to a lonely, destitute storage house. Despite some arousal of suspicion, the group helped carry out large crates and took them back to the caravan, where they were loaded onto wagons pulled by chocobos. Once the storage house was empty, Harid happily declared it time to cross the desert once again. "Here, my friends. Since you are not used to the harsh Kashkabald days, you may ride in the passenger wagon until the sun is almost set, then you will walk until we make camp."  
  
The group didn't object as they loaded into the back of a covered wagon and sat down on the wooden benches. Harid shouted something in jibberish to his friends, and finally the caravan departed from the jungle, and set out into the desert.   
  
The group all relaxed and either dozed or tried to engage in idle conversation as the day slowly trailed by. Riku kept finding his eyes slowly traveling over to Akira, who would occasionally meet his gaze, and he would then quickly look away. He swore to himself that he was going to go crazy.  
  
The day finally wore down, and the sun began to set. The wagon slowly came to a stop, and Harid looked into the wagon with a smile. "Did you fare well? It is now your turn to walk."   
  
The passengers gratefully unloaded and waited while a few of the nomads stepped into the wagon. Harid then shouted out, and the caravan resumed moving. "Alright.. where can I place you? Let's see... you two, go to the back of the caravan. And then you, go with her to the front..." Harid sorted out the group and placed them all around the caravan, "So we can keep an eye on all sides of the desert."  
  
Riku found himself placed with Akira, much to his heart's content. However, Akira was giving him the cold shoulder, so he found his happiness smothered quickly. He walked alongside her in silence, making sure to avoid any sort of physical contact with her. The last thing he needed was a set of broken ribs.   
  
At long last the sun had set, and the group walked on for a short time into the night when finally the caravan came together to form a circle, and the nomads quickly got together in the center and started a fire. Harid watched the new members of his caravan join them. "My friends, here, eat with us!" He heartily invited them, showing them the large pot of stew hanging over the fire.   
  
After eating a filling bowl of stew, Sora suddenly felt in the mood for a good story. "Hey, do you guys remember the Lysol Meatloaf?" He asked his friends.   
  
Kairi chuckled, apparently knowing the story already.   
  
"You see, this is before Jerdania knew how to really cook..."  
  
Jerdania blushed and laughed, and Sora continued. "You see.. one day, after Jerdania had just gotten done mopping the floor, she had decided to make a meatloaf for dinner. Well, when she was done with the cooking, she decided to put the tray in the Lysol water in the sink, because it would help get the grease off, right? But when she moved to put the meatloaf on a plate, it *slid* into the water!"  
  
The group burst into laughter as Sora animatedly described Jerdania hastily grabbing the meatloaf and then trying to rinse it off, then serving it to her family. His face mimicked Jerdania's expression as her family happily ate the food without question, making the group laugh even harder.   
  
After the story was done, the group began to roll out their sleeping bags, taking care when Harid warned them of scorpions and tarantulas creeping into their shoes. Akira set her bag off a little ways from the rest of the group, outside of the circle and next to a tall sand dune. She lay in her bag for a few hours, and found her attempt to sleep futile. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't stop thinking of how it had felt when his lips had touched hers. A shiver ran up her spine and she quickly shook her head, trying to get such nonsense out of her head. She finally got out of her bag and climbed to the top of the dune, wrapping her arms around her. She looked up in awe as the moon started to rise. It was huge, and seemed to light up the whole desert. A breeze gently danced around her as she sat down, keeping her company and playfully tossing her hair. She closed her eyes for a moment, and listened to the sounds of her slumbering friends. Snoring, heavy breathing... all of them asleep except for her.   
  
"Maybe you really are in denial.. you have to admit, you felt something when he kissed you." Her mind told her.  
  
"Well duh, it was a kiss. I didn't even enjoy it." She argued back.  
  
"Liar.. you loved it. In fact, you've been spending the past hour lying there, daydreaming about it!"  
  
"No I haven't! I just... have nothing else to really think about right now."  
  
"Oh sure.. just imagine it... his hand gently stroking your cheek, the look in his eyes as he leans closer, his soft lips brushing against yours..."  
  
"Shut up."  
  
Akira suddenly looked up when someone sat down next to her. Riku gave her a smile, and then looked out at the moon as he sat back on his hands. "The moon's huge, isn't it?" He asked her.  
  
Akira silently nodded, and felt the emotions in her raging like a stormy sea. She gazed at his profile, and admired the way his skin reflected the moon's pale light, the stars in his eyes... his lips slightly parted in awe of the beauty... his hair gently rustling as another breeze swirled around them, lifting a handful of sand and making it dance over the dunes.   
  
Riku looked over at her again, and she quickly looked away. "Akira... I don't want you to be mad at me like this."  
  
Akira didn't respond, so he tried again. "Look.. this is too much for me. I can't stand it, and I'm going to go crazy if you don't talk to me!" he practically begged her, resting his hand on her shoulder.  
  
Akira finally turned her head and looked into his eyes. She had never seen him look so desperate before... he was begging her for her forgiveness. She gently smiled at him. "Riku... I can't stay mad at you forever. I forgive you."  
  
Riku gave a deep sigh of relief and hugged her tightly. "Thank you so much!" He happily said, squeezing her shoulders tighter.  
  
"Oxygen... darkness..." She squeaked, taking in a deep breath after he released her.  
  
Riku smiled at her, and suddenly got a mischievous glint in his eye. "So... do you still think I could go out for Baywatch?"   
  
Akira groaned and shoved him. "Please, Riku! Give me a break!"  
  
Riku chuckled and quickly pushed her onto her back. "Now, hold still this time! CPR is a serious matter!"  
  
Akira rolled her eyes and quickly sat up and tackled him. The two laughed and rolled around in the sand, wrestling each other. Akira finally wrapped her arms around his shoulders and pinned him down, but he quickly flipped over, sending the two tumbling down the side of the dune. When at last they reached the bottom, the two were still laughing hysterically. Akira finally calmed down and happily sat up, glad that she had won in the end and had him pinned down. Suddenly her heart raced when she pulled the hair out of her face and realized that she was sitting on top of him. For a long moment, neither of them moved, and another breeze danced over them.  
  
"Um... maybe I should get up..." Riku finally mumbled, sitting up.  
  
Akira didn't move, but instead looked at his face and deep down she felt a hook snag her heart. Ever so slowly, she smiled, and leaned in closer. Riku's heart pounded in his ears, and he froze when her lips finally pressed against his. Akira sat still there for a moment, her lips still touching his. When he didn't respond, she finally leaned back and looked away, feeling ashamed of herself... he hadn't wanted it.  
  
"Akira..." Riku softly spoke, placing his hand on her cheek and turning her face so she was looking at him. He was completely struck dumb, and couldn't find the words to say to her.   
  
Feeling a stab of guilt, Akira quickly rose up and brushed herself off before hastily walking back to her sleeping bag, leaving Riku sitting there in the sand, a tear traveling down his cheek. 


	30. A Fatal Mistake

(A/n: wheee! Feels good to finally know where this story is going! I can hardly believe that I'm actually gonna finish it! Well... music selections, I have found. System of a Down's "Aerials" or "Suggestions" are pretty good, as well as "Atwa". Yes... I have broadened my taste in music.)  
  
Chapter 30: A Fatal Mistake  
  
Riku still sat in his place in the sand, watching Akira hurriedly walk towards her bag. Words couldn't express all that he was feeling. A hurricane of love, remorse, self-hatred and disbelief raged inside him, making his head spin. Finally he realized why she had left... he had been unable to respond, too shocked to move or speak. At last he willed himself up onto his feet, and started to stumble over the sand, moving as if in a dream.   
  
He finally found her, sitting on top of her sleeping bag, resting her head on her knees, softly sobbing. As he got closer he could hear what she was saying. "Stupid, stupid... how could you do something like that? Were you out of your mind kissing him like that? *Kissing* him?! You took it too far, too serious... you ruined everything, Akira..."  
  
Riku felt his heart break at her words. Should he approach her and console her, or would it be better to let her sort things out on her own? He stood there silently for a while, weighing the options in his mind. "Come on, move Riku, talk to her! This may be the perfect chance to tell her how you really feel."  
  
"But... what if she only gets mad at me?"  
  
"Come on, you should at least make her feel better, since she is your friend, after all."  
  
Riku's mental argument stopped as soon when Akira suddenly looked up at him, her face streaked with tears. "Hey Riku." She weakly said.  
  
Riku bit his lip and sat down next to her. "Hey."  
  
"I feel really stupid for doing that back there."  
  
Riku sighed. If only she knew how much it would have meant to him if that kiss had been heartfelt, and true. "It's all right... spur of the moment, right?"  
  
"Yeah... I don't know what I was thinking." She lied. Deep down inside she knew she was driving herself to insanity. All she wanted to do right now was have him wrap his arms around her, to rock her gently and tell her everything was going to be okay. But no matter what, she was being denied her heart's truest desire.   
  
Riku felt much the same, his heart flaring up in a flame of emotions. Dear Hyne, how he longed to kiss her back now... but was it too late? He looked up at the starts as if they would answer his questions. All they did was twinkle back at him, as if winking to either encourage or mock. "It's...all right Akira, I understand that you didn't mean to." He wrapped an arm around her shoulders, and then mentally continued: "But I wish you had."  
  
Akira sighed and leaned against him, happy that she would always have his support. She gave a loud yawn, and leaned her head against Riku's chest, glad for his warmth. In return he place his other arm around her almost protectively, and then sighed and rested his cheek on her head.  
  
Akira slowly blinked, and then looked up and watched as a huge cloud of sand came rushing slowly over the dunes, threatening to consume them. Riku was wrapping his arms around her, trying to protect her, but she wanted to run and hide.  
  
She quickly opened her eyes. When had she fallen asleep? Blinking to clear her eyes she sat up, and looked down to see Riku laying peacefully beside her. She smiled softly at the sight, and then looked at her watch. Morning wouldn't come for at least another 3 hours. Sighing, she lay back down, and then rolled onto her side and rest her head on his chest. She closed her eyes and listened to his heartbeat, smiling as his chest gently rose and fell with each breath he took. She lazily draped an arm over him and knew that deep down, she'd never be happy any other way.  
  
"Everyone, wake up! It is time for us to leave!" Harid's voice shouted, arousing the slumbering travelers.   
  
Riku moaned and tightly hugged the body that was half-draped over him, and then almost panicked when he realized it was Akira. "Not again..." He thought to himself, dropping his head back onto the sleeping bag as she stirred.  
  
Instead she warmly nuzzled his chest before sitting up. "G'morning Riku." She sleepily said, stretching and yawning.  
  
"Wow... you didn't attempt to murder me this time."   
  
"Pssh.. you're lucky. I'm too tired to try and kill you." She slowly mumbled back, standing up and rolling up her sleeping bag.  
  
Harid approached them with another cheery smile that suddenly seemed almost hallow. "Get up my fine friends. We have only but three more days until we reach an oasis where we can all rinse our bodies of this sand."  
  
The day went by rather slowly, as expected. The caravan almost seemed to crawl over the endless wasteland. The only distraction was the stray cactaur (a walking cactus) or a giant vulture circling high overhead.   
  
Slowly the group came to trust Harid. He was a man of his word, always looking out for their well-being. The only thing that still unnerved them was how secretive he was about the contents of the crates they were transporting. Jerdania had inquired him about it that night at the fire, and she had received a cold, eerie smile that sent shivers up her spine.   
  
The days slowly passed, and at last they arrived at the oasis. It was a large, beautiful pond of sky-blue water surrounded by palm trees and a small shelf of rocks that reflected the dancing light of the water. Erik quickly dropped his pack on the spot and ran, yelling like he was crazy as he whipped his shirt off and jumped into the water. "Man, this feels great!" He happily shouted when he came back up for air.  
  
"We have to drink that water, you know!" Kairi scolded him.  
  
"It is quite all right my friends. We have more than enough water with us. This oasis is strictly for bathing and relaxing." He assured them.   
  
Jerdania watched as everyone approached the oasis, leaving the chocobos unattended. She decided to take advantage of the distraction, and sneaked around to one of the birds bearing the large crates. She slowly untied the ropes holding the box down and gently laid it down on the sand. Looking around to make sure no one was watching, she pulled a Swiss army knife out of her pocket and pulled out a long blade. She wedged it into one of the small spaces where the sides of the box came together, and began to wiggle the knife back and forth, trying to pry it open. At last the crack finally widened, and she peeked in, trying to make out what was in there. She suddenly froze when she heard someone walk up to her. "Looking for something?" Harid asked her, reaching down and grabbing the back of her neck, pulling her up.  
  
"It fell, and I was going to put it back for you!" She hastily tried to explain, feeling her feet slowly leave the ground.  
  
Harid laughed and shook his head. "Foolish girl. You should know better than to meddle in the affairs of the nomads."   
  
With that he kicked the side of the crate, and the side of the box fell down into the sand, a large number of rifles, gunblades and ammo belts tumbling out.   
  
Jerdania gasped and struggled. "You! You're supporting the Al Bhed war, aren't you?" She accused, futilely thrashing about.  
  
Harid gave another laugh. "But of course! The Khashkabald nomads have been making a generous living by making them weapons and selling them to the Al Bhed army. Osama! Sadam! Come here!"   
  
Two of his lackey friends came running up obediently. "Yes Harid?"  
  
"I'm afraid our guests are no longer welcome with us. We will follow through with our plan now." He told them both.   
  
The lackeys nodded, and quickly ran back to the oasis to carry out their orders. Jerdania tried to shout out to her friends, but Harid's large hand quickly covered her mouth. She struggled against his firm hold, and jerked when she felt something prick her neck.   
  
"Shh.. calm down now. You're going to feel very sleepy.. don't worry about fighting it.. go to sleep." Harid's vile voice softly whispered in her ear as her vision began to blur.  
  
Jerdania felt exhaustion overtake her, and at last he released her from his grip. She took a step forward, and then fell limply into the sand.   
  
Red groaned and slowly opened his large reptilian eye. He tried to stand up, but found that someone had tied his feet together. Growling, he raised his head quickly and discovered that he was muzzled and hitched to one of the palm trees. He moaned again and winced as the sun glared in his eyes. Around him he could hear the other members of the group slowly waking up and moving around. He squinted and moaned as his head began to pound. He couldn't remember a thing that had happened.. he couldn't even remember morphing into his dragon form. Slowly, bit by bit, it started to come back to him. Harid had been holding a dart gun.. he couldn't understand what he would be doing with it. Suddenly the gun was fired, and Irvine fell to the sand unconscious. To protect himself, he had morphed into his dragon form.. beyond that everything was a blur.   
  
Out of the corner of his eye he could see Erik slowly sitting up. His hands were bound behind his back, and his feet were tied together. He looked around him as if in a daze, and his eyes widened when he spotted his dragon friend tied to the tree. "Red, are you all right?" He asked, trying to stand but falling back down.  
  
Red rolled his eyes and rest his head against the tree. Perfect. They were all tied up, and had been abandoned in the desert. Even if they managed to get untied, they didn't know where to go. Nearby Riku slowly woke up and looked around. Like Erik, he was completely confused. "What the.... what happened? Where's Harid and the others?" He asked, looking around in a daze.  
  
At this time Jerdania finally awoke, and her conscience was quickly overwhelmed. She looked around at her friends, tied and confused, and couldn't stop reminding herself that it was *her fault*. She had to let her prying eyes get the best of her, that deadly need to know... and it was going to most likely cost them their lives now. Gratefully she noticed that Harid was not entirely heartless; he had left them their supplies, and in the shade of the rock shelf next to the oasis was several large leather waterbags, all full. Somewhat more at peace she closed her eyes and began to twist around awkwardly on the sand, desperately trying to reach the pocketknife that was certainly still in her front pocket. After several minutes of painful stretching, she saw something glint in the corner of her eye. A metal point stuck partway out of the ground just a few feet away from her. Wiggling about insanely she scooted closer, and then rolled onto her side. Slowly and carefully moving, she felt relieved when her tied wrists finally touched the metal point's edge. She dug into the sand, and soon unburied what she was sure had to be her pocketknife. It must have fallen into the sand when she collapsed. The process of positioning the knife proved to be stressful, but at last she managed, and began to slowly saw away at the ropes that bound her wrists together. She tried to slow her breathing and concentrate as the hot sun rose higher into the sky, and the sun glared directly into her eyes. A breeze began to stir up sand, which got into her eyes and crept into her mouth.   
  
She almost felt like giving up when finally the rope snapped, and she quickly slipped the severed ties off and rubbed her sore wrists. "Guys, I'm free... I'll get you all untied." She quickly told her friends, many of whom had been watching her all this time, silently cheering her on.   
  
The first one she untied was Riku. After all, he was the leader, and in she was going to forever be at fault with him for this incident. She kept mentally berating herself, swearing to never let herself live it down, not unless she found some way to forever make up for this. As soon as Riku was untied she quickly moved on to Irvine. After all, who was she to leave her beloved lying in wait in the sand?   
  
The day slowly drew on and finally all the members of the group were freed, and began to cluster around Riku, looking to him for guidance. Jerdania never let her eyes leave the ground, feeling to ashamed of herself to feel like she could possibly be of any help. "All right guys... please calm down! Panicking obviously never helps." Riku quickly requested, putting a hand up to his head as if fighting off a headache. "I don't know what happened here... I don't believe any of us do. Apparently Harid has betrayed us for some odd reason."  
  
"But why would he do that?" Kairi quickly asked.  
  
"Maybe it had something to do with the cargo! Maybe there was something in there that he didn't want us to find out about."   
  
"Then why would he let us join him in the first place then?"  
  
Jerdania quietly slipped away and climbed the rock shelf, seeking solitude. She sat down and faced the oncoming sunset, her guilt growing greater by the second as she heard the questions being asked below grow in quantity. She shifted a little, and found it hard to get comfortable, for something was in her back pocket. She reached her hand in, and pulled out a thickly folded square of tan paper, tied neatly with a string, as well as a small compass. She gently untied the string and the square quickly unfolded. It was a map. As the map unfolded another piece of folded paper fell into her lap. She refolded the map and then picked up the paper from her lap and opened it. It was a letter from Harid.   
  
"Dear Friends," It began. "I am most apologetic that I must leave you like this in the desert. For you see, it was truly my innermost wish only to be of help to you, but I am afraid that when you did not respect our right to the privacy of our business, you put the only way we nomads can make a living to support our families on the line. But I assure you that I am not entirely ruthless, for I have left you with a map, a compass, and an adequate amount of water that should last you long enough, given that you do not get lost in a sandstorm. Hyne being merciful, you will have a safe passage. I wish you luck. Harid."  
  
Jerdania bit her lip. So Harid really wasn't so bad after all... or was he? When she had pried into their affairs, she had not only put her friends' lives on the line, but if what Harid said was true, he had also put his families on the line as well. "Wonderful, Jerdania... now their blood is on your hands. Never will a moment pass by when you don't regret this." She muttered hatefully to herself, feeling almost like bashing her head against the rock she sat on.   
  
Of course, killing herself wasn't going to really solve anything in the end. She considered going on down and telling everyone what had happened, and then quickly decided against it. She didn't want to provoke everyone's anger. Maybe if she just spoke to one person alone, it would work... she could tell Irvine. Irvine was the most understanding person she had met, and she was certain that no matter what she did, he would always forgive her and point out the positive things that could be done to correct her mistakes. She finally began to climb back down the rock, and found that Riku was waiting with Irvine at the bottom for her. 


	31. From Bad to Worse

(A/n: I don't know if I'm going to keep doing these song selections, cuz I don't know if you guys actually pay any attention to them or not. Anyhow.. the only songs I can really suggest are Creed's "Who's Got My Back", and Korn's (yes, Korn!) "I Did My Time".)  
  
Chapter 31: From Bad to Worse  
  
Jerdania took a deep breath and approached them. "Um... hey guys..."  
  
"Irvine was just wondering where you got off to.. you've been really quiet all day. Maybe you've got an idea?" Riku asked.  
  
Jerdania looked down at the ground and handed over the contents of her pocket to Riku, who raised an eyebrow as he read the letter from Harid while holding the compass and surveying the map in his other hand. "What's this supposed to mean, 'respect our right to privacy'? Was someone snooping around?"  
  
Jerdania shrugged. "I...I have really no idea what he was talking about. I just found the letter and the map and compass next to one of the trees, and I thought I would check it out." She quickly lied.   
  
Riku nodded approvingly. "Good job, Jerdania... this should help us tremendously. Now... we should probably get all our stuff together and get set to leave. We can't stay here forever, and traveling at night is obviously our best bet to beat the heat."  
  
"Yeah... since the moon is full right now, it should be easy to see." Jerdania offered, feeling horrible for just having lied.  
  
Irvine knew something wasn't right, from the way that Jerdania suddenly seemed to be so quiet and withdrawn. Maybe she knew more about Harid's reason for leaving than she was telling them. He decided against bringing it up now, believing that it would be better to wait until later, when Jerdania would be a little more comfortable.. if that was possible. Maybe she would confess whatever she knew on her own if given the chance.   
  
Riku walked back to the group and announced the plan while letting them all examine the map. "So, we'll travel by night to spare the pain of the heat. We'll start out tonight... in fact, get your stuff together now, and by the time you're all ready, I should have this map figured out." With that said, Riku quickly turned around and handed to map to Jerdania. "Here, you should be able to figure this thing out."  
  
With a raised eyebrow she reluctantly took the map and examined it. "Great... something else for me to screw up." She said under her breath.  
  
She had little difficulty translating the map, soon located their position and then, taking a pen and scribbling on the back of the map, quickly charted out their course. Feeling a little bit better that she had done something right, she rolled up the map and tucked the pen behind her ear. "Done." She announced, picking up her own heavy backpack and slinging it onto her shoulders.   
  
Irvine quietly chuckled at her confidence. "So, got any idea how long it's gonna take us to get out of here?" he drawled.  
  
"I'm thinking that it ought to take us about... two weeks."  
  
"Two weeks?! We'll fry or get lost in that amount of time!" Sora quickly objected.  
  
"What do you want me to do about it, whisk out my magic wand and magically transport us away?" Jerdania snapped.  
  
Sora withdrew and grumbled as he shuffled his feet.   
  
Riku quickly handed out the waterbags that Harid had so generously left for them. "I guess we'll have to just live through this."   
  
Once everyone was set, the group somewhat hesitantly waited while Jerdania took a small flashlight pen out of her backpack and used it to illuminate the map, then took the compass from Riku and looked straight ahead out towards the desert. Nodding her head, she began to resolutely stride across the sand. Silently the others followed behind her, many of them expecting to never make it out alive.   
  
Five days had passed. Five long, sanity-stealing days. The moon had ebbed away to no more than a sliver, making travel by night no longer an option. "What?! No one here thought to do something as simple as pack extra batteries?!" Sora had angrily snarled when Erik, the only one with a flashlight, had told him the battery was dead.   
  
"Well excuse us, Sora, but I don't think any of us exactly expected to be dumped in the desert and forced to travel only at night!" Kairi spat back, having lost her last nerve.  
  
It was early morning, and everyone was gathered around Jerdania, who had decided on the change. She knew better than everyone else that it was the worst possible scenario they could be forced into. Traveling by day meant more heat. More heat meant they needed to drink more water. The odds that they would run out of water before they reached Cosmo Canyon seemed to double before her. "I know this looks bad guys, but it's only for maybe ten days. I'm sure we can hold out. We just have to grit our teeth and bear it." She tried to assure them. "Besides, it's not like we have any other choice. It's either travel by day and actually get out of here, or stumble around in pitch black by night and get lost."  
  
No one said anything, but stared at the ground, knowing what she said was true. They would have to push themselves to the extreme, but they had to do it. There was simply no other way. With some hesitation they finished packing and starting lathering themselves with biblical proportions of sunscreen. Tan or not, none of them were taking any chances.   
  
The sun rose in a red flame, angrily setting the white sand on fire. Without a word the group began to follow Jerdania eastward, as if they were going to walk directly into the sun's furious blaze as it slowly climbed over the horizon. Jerdania pushed the sunglasses that had been holding back her long bangs so they dropped down over her eyes. "Come on guys, we've got a long day ahead of us."   
  
And indeed the day was long, full of tormenting heat and wandering thoughts. As was the next few days. Finally the monotony was broken by a loud shout. "What?!"  
  
Heads snapped up. "What is it, Sora? What's wrong?"  
  
"You're not going to believe this but... my waterbag has a hole in it, and it's been leaking this entire time! I'm already out of water!"  
  
"No way!" Erik quickly approached the panicking youth and quickly surveyed the bag. "I can't believe it... if your bag has a hole in it... then maybe..." he quickly dropped his words as he investigated his own waterbag. To his dismay, his bag was leaking too, and it itself was almost empty.  
  
"This is awful... we're not going to get much further without water..." Riku muttered, closing his eyes and trying to think as the others slowly began to become anxious.  
  
"Well... we've gotten this far... if we just quickly use something to patch up these holes, we just might be able to squeeze out enough to last us a few more days." Jerdania suggested, placing her bag on the ground and digging through the contents.  
  
After rummaging for a few minutes, she finally pulled out a roll of gray duct tape. "Hehe... the handyman's secret weapon- duct tape!" she happily declared, tearing off a piece and patching Sora's bag. " 'If they don't find you handsome,' or in my case, gorgeous, 'at least they'll find you handy'."* she quoted, finishing up the patch and taking Riku's bag.  
  
Akira shielded her eyes and looked out over the endless horizon, suddenly confused. "Is that a mirage?" She asked, pointing out the huge cactuar-shaped shadow in the distance.  
  
Irvine stood next to her and narrowed his eyes. "I have no idea... it seems to be heading in our direction, though...."  
  
A huge dust cloud rose up over the dunes as the gigantic creature approached them. Riku's jaw dropped as the two-story-high cactuar slid to a stop right in front of them, and no one moved as the dust cloud settled around them. For a moment, no one moved. The cactuar pivoted on one of its legs, as if scanning the area, before finally bending its head down and looking straight at them with blank, beady black eyes. Silence. A breeze lifted some sand off the ground and carried it over to another dune. More silence. Suddenly there was a loud clicking noise as thousands of sharp, black needles erupted from the surface of the cactuar's smooth green body, giving it a Rambo-like appearance. Everyone immediately leapt and dove into the sand, trying to avoid the thousands of needles that whistled around them.   
  
Riku shouted in pain as several of the inch-long needles pierced his shoulder. He tried to raise his sword to defend himself, but found that the immense pain kept him from so much as moving his arm. He looked up and watched as Akira swiftly loaded an arrow into her crossbow and fired it at the giant green attacker, which lodged itself right between the cactuar's eyes. But alas, this made the giant even angrier. With a loud cry it started to fall forward, and everyone hastily tried to scramble out of the way as it plopped upon the sand, intending to flatten them all. Riku screamed out in pain as the arm of the creature pummeled him into the ground. Unable to move, he cried out uselessly and struggled against the immense weight driving him even deeper into the sand. He then sharply looked up when he heard Akira scream his name. "Riku! Just hang in there, I'll get you out!"   
  
With a great effort she picked up his sword, swung it into the air, and using it like an ax she started to hack at the monster's arm, causing what seemed to be water squirting out of the wound and soaking her. With two well-aimed blows, she managed to slice halfway through the limb. The third and final strike sent the sword through the remaining thick, juice-squirting cactus flesh, and the giant arm slid off of Riku's back and settled into the sand with a thud. With a loud screech the cactuar righted itself and angrily stomped the ground, sending a shockwave that sent everyone tumbling to the ground. Once more the inch-long needles peppered its body, and shot out and flew through the air like thousands of bullets. Riku looked up and instantly expecting the attack, he quickly threw himself across the sand and wrapped himself around Akira, trying to shield her.   
  
This time no one was spared the relentless attack, and all were hissing loudly in pain as the cactuar gave one last earthquake-causing stomp before finally retreating and disappearing in the vast desert.   
  
Once she had managed to rise from the ground, Akira's eyes at once fell upon Riku, who lay face-first in the sand, not moving. "Riku?....Riku?" She quietly said, clutching her heavily needled arm and crawling across the sand towards him. "Riku, wake up." She gently shook him with her good arm, trying to ignore the dozens of needles sprayed across his back and legs. An immense wave of relief washed over her when he gave a low groan and tried to push himself up.   
  
With a struggle he managed to roll himself over and looked up at her with a lopsided smile. "Nice job Akira... I can't believe you could even raise my sword, let alone use it like that." He said with a raspy voice.   
  
Akira smiled back at him. "Thanks... just hang in there, I'm gonna go get Kairi, okay? We're going to get rid of all these needles, and you're going to be okay..."  
  
Akira looked up to see that Kairi, fortunately enough, had been the least injured, and despite a few needles sticking out of her hand, she was already opening her pack and rummaging through the contents. Within a few minutes she had already set up a small station with a blanket spread over the ground, a pair of tweezers, several rolls of bandages, a pack of band-aids, some disinfectant.... Thank Hyne she had come so prepared.   
  
"Come on Riku, get up, you're first." Akira said, trying to help him up.   
  
Riku shook his head and waved off her attempts to move him. "Look," he said, pointing with a hand that resembled a pin-cushion. "They're hurt worse than me."   
  
Akira followed where his hand was pointing, and saw that Irvine, Sora and Jerdania looked a lot more banged-up than he did. "All right... but I'm staying right here with you, okay?"   
  
Once again Riku tried to wave her off. "No, go help Kairi, she needs you more than I do, now go."   
  
Biting her lip, Akira sighed and gave in to his request, and assisted Kairi in removing the hundreds of needles and spraying disinfectant before gently wrapping up arms, legs, shoulders, backs and other numerous body parts. The sun was already getting ready to set by the time Riku was ready to have his injuries doctored.   
  
Akira walked over to where he was still laying, and gently roused him from his feverish sleep. "Riku... come on and get up, I can't carry you." She said, feeling a little better when his long eyelashes parted. She gave him her hand and helped him as he gingerly walked over and collapsed on top of the blanket.   
  
Hesitating, Akira took the tweezers that Kairi handed to her, and together they began the painstaking task of removing the hundreds of individual needles, and when the light began to fail them, they paused for a break while Erik quickly started a fire with whatever little wood he had packed for the trip. After pausing to stretch her badly shaking hands, Akira turned back to Riku and resumed plucking out the deeply embedded needles, silently cursing under her breath whenever she came across a particularly stubborn one.   
  
By the time they had finally finished removing Riku's needles, Kairi and Akira were both thoroughly exhausted, as well as Riku, who had had to endure the painful removal stage.   
  
"Half-way done, now we just need to disinfect and bandage him." Kairi tiredly said, rolling up Riku's pants legs so they could quickly get it over with.   
  
Akira made a hasty job of spraying the soothing gel-like substance onto a clean wipe and rubbing it into the small holes in his leg, then took a bandage, wrapped it around his (admittedly) well-built leg and taping it down before pulling the pant leg back down. She then looked up at Kairi, who was pausing to yawn and stretch. "Why don't you go ahead and rest, I'll finish him up." Akira suggested, waving her away.  
  
Kairi smiled gratefully and yawned again while cleaning up some of the mess, then walked away and unrolled her sleeping bag, upon which she instantly collapsed. Akira felt strangely relaxed now that no one would be watching her work. She quickly helped Riku sit up and waited for him to remove his shirt. Her intentions being purely medical or not, she felt the heat rise to her face as soon as his shirt came over his head. Keeping her eyes and face down so he couldn't see her embarrassment, she sprayed the disinfectant onto the cloth and began to rub it onto his back, her mind growing a little foggy as she focused on making small circles with the cloth. She could hear every single breath Riku took as he innocently leaned forward, probably not noticing that she had slowed down considerably. Shaking her head to clear it, she finally placed the cloth in her other hand so she could work on his....chest.... swallowing and taking a deep, shaky breath, she watched as he leaned back onto his hands. He wasn't too badly hurt, just a large bruise covering his... smooth, flat stomach.....area... hesitating again, she reached out with a shaky hand and tenderly pressed the cloth his skin, and her heart began to pound in her chest. "Why am I so nervous?" She angrily asked herself in her mind, trying to find a way to shake it off.   
  
She looked up at his tired face. His eyes were closed, and he seemed to be on the brink of collapsing. She felt a pang of sympathy for him. It very well could have been her in his place, bleeding from a hundred tiny wounds in her arms, back and legs. Looking away, she picked up a roll of bandaging and, leaning over him, began to wrap it around his waist. When the roll ran out, she held it down in place and picked up the tape, ripped off a piece and used it to hold everything together while she sought out a new roll. She finally looked back down at her hand when she felt it touching feverishly warm skin instead of gauze. He gently shivered from the contact, but otherwise showed no sign that he knew she was touching him. Her hand lay just above the bandages, right below his collar bone.   
  
"Are you looking for something?" He suddenly asked, making her jump. He sat up and reached up with his hand, which he lay over hers.   
  
Akira's mouth went dry. "N-no.. I mean.. yes... um... I need some more bandages so I can do your back." She hastily said.   
  
Riku gave a sigh, picked up a roll and handed it to her. Her hands slightly shaking, she quickly patched up his back and handed him his shirt. Her eyes practically devoured him as he carefully pulled his shirt back on. She couldn't explain it, but something inside of her wanted more than anything just to tightly wrap her arms around him, to feel him, to kiss him... even more. She shuddered and forced herself to look away. Those were feelings she shouldn't have... after all, he certainly didn't feel the same now, did he?   
  
Feeling utter exhaustion, she finally crept away from him and pulled out her sleeping bag, and fell upon it, dreams invading her mind seconds after her eyes were closed.  
  
*quote taken from The Red Green Show. 


	32. Arrival at Cosmo Canyon

(A/n: this is the longest chapter I do believe I've posted here on ff.net yet. 17 pages, booyah! Music selections? Well.. like I said, I dunno if you guys care for them or not, so unless you guys pretty much beg for me to put them back up, I'm not going to bother. *shudders as the midi-like song from Cosmo Canyon on FF7 plays through her mind*)  
  
Chapter 32: Arrival at Cosmo Canyon  
  
The next morning a blazing red ball rose over the horizon and shone fiercely into the faces on the slumbering teens. There were loud groans of protest and hisses of pain as they slowly awoke. Riku couldn't possibly have felt worse. Wherever a needle had pierced his skin there was a large, itchy rash, and his joints felt slightly swollen. Despite all this, he was determined not to complain. He gingerly rose from his sleeping bag and smeared on a liberal amount of sunscreen, then packed away his stuff and sat down to wait for everyone else. Injured or not, he still had responsibilities as leader.   
  
Fate had most strongly set itself against them, for the sun showed them no mercy as they trekked across the dunes. It beat heavily upon their skin, making whatever injuries they had sustained seem twice as bad. As soon as the sun was high overhead, the pain became unbearable. Sora, Irvine, Jerdania and Riku all felt the effects powerfully. Their joints were swollen, their skin was burning and even so much as blinking was excruciating. Irvine was the first to collapse into the sand. Soon after, Sora's legs failed him, and Jerdania wasn't too far behind. Knowing that they couldn't just abandon their friends, Erik helped Akira slide Irvine onto Red's draconic back, and then gently scooped up Jerdania while Kairi proved herself to be unnaturally strong and had Sora on her back piggy-back style.  
  
Their progress had now been slowed down to a mere crawl, but they continued on nonetheless, spurred by the knowledge that the end of their travel was coming ever closer. Riku, despite all the pain he was in, still pushed himself, refusing to be weak or neglect his duties as leader. He looked down at the map that Jerdania had been using to guide them, and checked the compass. They had to be getting close.. maybe just one more day, he didn't know, he couldn't actually read the map, just the directions. He looked up at Erik, who was carrying the still-unconscious Jerdania, wishing that she would wake up and tell them how much farther they had to go. Erik gave him a small smile and a nod, as if to assure him that he could still go on.   
  
Sighing and looking around him, he reached down to his waist for his water bag and raised it to his lips, tilted as far up as he could, but only a small, dusty sip of water, sickeningly warm from the hot air, filled his parched mouth. He knew he couldn't last much longer, even if their destination was close at hand. With a look of fierce determination to do his best, he pushed onward through the fierce desert sun. Endless miles seemed to fall away under his feet, infinite numbers of grains of sand slipping away. He lost of track of all time, only concentrating on putting one foot in front of the other. They climbed to the crest of a great dune, and there, in the slowly fading sunlight, he could see the canyon, great red rock rising out of the earth. "But... I won't see it any closer." He thought to himself with an ironic smile, and he took another step forward, and suddenly felt as if a sword had been rammed into his gut, and he gasped out more from surprise than pain. His head swirled and his empty stomach heaved as blood from a thousand infinitesimal wounds trickled down his body, his face and into his eyes and mouth. He could feel the ground falling away underneath him, and he was being pulled into the center of the earth.   
  
"Riku!" Akira screamed as she watched her friend suddenly collapse and slide down the dune.   
  
She leapt after him and leaned into her fall as she surfed down the slope, increasing her speed so that she quickly overtook him, and then spun around and caught him. The others quickly sprinted down towards her as she gently took Riku into her arms and felt his forehead. "He's gone... totally dehydrated and unconscious." She told herself, gently brushing the sweat out of his face.   
  
She then looked up at the towering red rock, less than a mile away. And the terrain was all smooth and flat from here... why did he have to give up so close to their goal? She resolutely picked him up in her arms and gently slung him over her shoulder, taken off-guard by how heavy he was, and strained to stand up. "Come on guys, we're not giving up, we're too close..." she said breathlessly under her heavy load.   
  
With trembling legs she took the first step forward, and found that with time she seemed to adjust to her burden, and walking quickly became easier. Even so, halfway to the entrance to the canyon, pain began to shoot up her legs and back, and she began to think that she was beyond all help. She looked up at Erik when she heard his voice urging her to press on, but even though she saw his lips moving, the voice seemed to be coming from miles away. She blankly stared and blinked, and then looked back up at the canyon looming overhead. She closed her eyes, and imagined herself at home. She was lying in her bed, her boom box playing some gentle, tinkling piano music, and she could hear the waves gently lapping at the beach. Suddenly she heard a strange, ominous roar, and she looked out the window to see that the sky had been shrouded in darkness. A huge tidal wave was approaching... somehow she was standing on the beach, and she was staring up at the wave, rooted to the spot. She could hear Riku screaming at her to move, but she couldn't, her feet were like lead... "Akira... AKIRA!"   
  
Akira quickly jerked awake and looked up to see that Erik had been shaking her. "S..Sorry..." She mumbled, and slowly started to walk forward again, determined to get somewhere. She barely noticed as the rock walls rose up some thirty feet on either side of her, leaving her in the cool shade. The ground under her feet was gritty, and the sound of the soles of her shoes scraping against the ground echoed loudly all around her. The further they walked on, the more she was ascertained that the place was completely devoid of inhabitants. Her legs were beginning to tremble again, and she was forced to sit down on a boulder to rest, and let Riku gently slip into her lap. "Do you think we came the right way?" She asked breathlessly, staring up at the strikingly blue sky.  
  
Erik opened his water bag and tilted it upside down, not surprised when nothing came out. "I dunno... but at least we're not wandering out there anymore."   
  
Akira vaguely nodded and pricked up her ears when she heard a strange scratching noise not too far away. She slowly stood up, carefully leaning Riku against the boulder, and walked towards the source of the sound. She followed it around a couple corners, and soon found herself in a small grotto, where a strange cougar-like creature was sniffing and scratching at a crack between a fallen rock and the canyon wall. It kept making small, frustrated grunts and finally fell back onto its rear and leaned on its gargantuan paws. It turned its head when she approached and gave her a small meow. "Hey there, little guy..." She said in a gentle voice, slowly crouching down and crawling towards it. "Watcha got there?"   
  
"Rowr."   
  
Akira grinned and, sensing the animal was no threat, peered into the crack it had been digging at earlier. Inside she could hear a tiny mewing noise. "Holy cow... your baby is in there!" She softly exclaimed, and slid her hand into the crack and reached around.  
  
Her hand came to rest upon the small, furry body, and she gently wrapped her hand around it and pulled the small, bright orange kitten out. The larger cat sniffed her hand, licked the small kitten and purred appreciatively. "You're welcome I guess." Akira laughed, and stood up. "Come on, let's go show the others."   
  
The cougar-thing followed after her on its hind legs, walking like a human. She looked over her shoulder and laughed, and the cougar sheepishly put a paw behind its head and scratched, squinting its eyes. Shaking her head, she turned back and continued to walk on, thoroughly convinced she had to be out of her mind. Erik spotted her as she approached and jogged over to her, a huge smile on his face. "How cool, you found Moombas!"   
  
"Moombas?" Akira asked.  
  
"Yeah, they're super-smart..."   
  
Kairi gave a delighted squeal upon sighting the cub in Akira's hands, and reached out and scooped the small, puppy-sized ball of fur into her arms, smiling and scratching it under its chin.  
  
"Wait, didn't that Cloud guy say something about there being Moombas here at the dig site?" Erik suddenly asked.  
  
Akira looked away, trying to remember. "I... I think he might have..." She looked down at the Moomba and sighed. "So, little fella... you wouldn't by any chance know where Red XIII is, would you?"   
  
The Moomba suddenly gave an excited growl and hopped up and down, then took off running down the path. Erik and Akira exchanged looks before quickly picking up their gear, including Jerdania and Riku, before madly dashing down the canyon floor after the bright-red animal, Red and Kairi hot on their trail.   
  
After several minutes of hectic running, the narrow trail abruptly stopped, opening onto a huge ledge overlooking a deep gully. A city had been carved into the cliff wall behind the ledge, long ladders snaked up amidst the precipitous sandstone dwellings, creaking in the wind. There was a huge bonfire atop a small hill on the ledge, and several dark figures were sitting around it, quietly conversing. The Moomba raced ahead of them and began loudly growling and meowing, pointing to the strange visitors standing not too far away.   
  
Akira squinted her eyes in the low light and tried to make out their faces, but the closer they got the more blurry they seemed to become. She suddenly felt dizzy and her knees buckled under Riku's weight. One of the strangers grabbed her arm just before she hit the ground, and gently removed her heavy load while lowering her until her knees rest on the cool, inviting earth. The strangers began to quickly talk to one another in some strange language, their voices raised at first in questioning tones, then leveled off as they began to instruct one another. Akira made no effort to either hinder or assist them as they stripped off her backpack, weapon and empty waterbag, but simply watched through glazed-over eyes as her stuff was carried away somewhere. Suddenly her mind snapped to as she became aware of tight, biting coils of rope binding her hands together behind her back. Surely they weren't taking her prisoner! "Hey, hey!" She tried to shout with her parched throat, but all that came out was a raspy whisper. "Hey! What are you doing? Don't tie me up, I've got a reason for being here!" She forced out.   
  
A figure squatted down in front of her, and she could just make out a handsome, copper-skinned face with a couple black streaks below his light brown eyes, and bright red hair with a long, white and black feather braided in just behind his ear. He spoke to her in his language with a hasty, commanding tone. "Ha'ii sheth ne'hila sele et?"   
  
".....say what?" Akira asked, drawing her eyebrows together in confusion.   
  
"Tell him to repeat the first part, I didn't quite catch it." Erik said from behind her, and she turned to see that he was also tied up, as well as Kairi.  
  
The stranger shook her shoulder, and she turned her attention back to him. He repeated himself, this time talking slower and making gestures with his hands. Again, she was completely confused. "I believe what we have here is a failure to communicate." Erik quipped.  
  
Sighing, the stranger looked up at his raven-haired friend standing behind him and the two quickly conversed for a moment. Akira shifted uncomfortably and pretended to look around when the dark-haired one whispered something into his friend's ear, grinning and nudging his buddy's shoulder while pointing at her. The red-haired one scowled and rolled his eyes, apparently taking offense, but he then looked at her and seemed to consider whatever his friend had said, and she could've sworn that he was blushing. She gave him a weak, sheepish grin and gulped, then sharply looked up when she heard Red give a loud growl, and saw that he was being back into a corner by several more strangers who were holding ropes in their hands. He swished his tail about threateningly and spread his wings out to his sides to ward them off. A rather brutal, yet brief struggle ensued, and despite his best efforts he was unable to prevent several lassoes from flying over his head and around his neck, and he was quickly pulled down to the ground and muzzled.   
  
Erik shouted in protest and tried to get to his feet, but a tall, sturdy blonde teen pushed him back down. Akira pleaded to him to calm down and be agreeable, and once again the red-haired boy shook her shoulder. She turned to look at him again, and he held a finger up over his lips to signal her to be quiet, and it was the last thing she saw before her eyes were blindfolded.   
  
Akira groaned and rolled over as someone shook her awake and spoke to her. "I'm up..." she groggily said, sitting up and trying to open her eyes.  
  
A hand reached around her head and untied her blindfold, and she blinked as the sun blinded her. After squinting for a few minutes, she looked around and remembered the events of last night. For being a prisoner, she was in an awfully nice room. Well, as far as living in a rock house goes, it was nice. The dingy orange sandstone walls were brightly illuminated by sunlight coming in through a round, carved hole that was partially covered by what appeared to be a deerskin. The scattered remains of a small fire lay in a small ditch in the floor, which was covered by another animal pelt, and the opening that served as a door was covered by yet another pelt that obviously provided privacy. Her eyes wandered back towards herself and she found that she was sitting up on what was a woven grass mat covered with several layers of even more animal pelts. She then looked up when she remembered that she wasn't alone, and the red-haired boy from last night was sitting cross-legged in front of her with a friendly smile on his face. In the light, she could see that his eyes weren't brown at all, but a pale violet color. Apparently happy to see she was awake, he spoke to her in his language as if explaining something to her, and Akira just shrugged as he reached around her and untied her wrists. "What a relief." Akira mumbled as she rubbed the raw, red patches on her arms from where the rope had bitten into her skin during the night.   
  
The boy cleared his throat to catch her attention, and she looked back up at him to see he was holding out a bundle of tan leather, offering it to her. "Um... thanks." Akira said, taking the bundle and unfolding it, surprised to see that it was clothing. "Wow, these are great!" Akira happily said, admiring the delicate fringes and the beaded embroidery. "You want me to put it on, right?" She asked him, looking up at him.   
  
He smiled back at her as if trying to understand, and Akira rose from the bed and gently pushed him out the door so she could change. She was in awe of how well it all fit her, the soft, velvety tank top with all its fringes and beads, the wrap-around skirt/pants combo which laced up the side, and even the moccasins which fit her feet perfectly. For a moment she felt slightly suspicious at the generosity, but perhaps it was a way of apologizing for last night's misunderstandings. She poked her head out the door and her new friend smiled at her. She stood in front of him and looked around, wandering what to do next. He tried to sign something to her, like he wanted to tell her something. She watched closely as he pointed to himself and said "Liko".   
  
Akira watched him do this a couple of times, and it finally dawned on her: his name was Liko. "Oh, okay... ummm.... Akira." She finally responded, pointing back at her self.  
  
"Ah...keerah?" Liko tried, sounding out the strange word.   
  
Akira nodded and smiled. "Yep, that's me."   
  
Liko looked happy to have broken down the barrier in communication in some small way, and then looked up when his raven-haired friend from last night approached them. The two talked for a moment, the dark-haired one glancing at her a few times. The two then quickly lowered their conversation to a low whisper, and she felt frustrated that she couldn't understand them. For some odd reason the fact that she was wearing the same kind of clothing as them seemed a bit more ominous. After a few minutes Liko stopped and then pointed to his friend. "Miroki."   
  
"Ah. Hi Miroki." Akira casually said, not taking to him much.   
  
Liko and Miroki continued to glance at her and almost openly discuss her, now certain that she couldn't pick up on a word they said. After a few minutes of teasing and pushing, a third person approached them, but this one appeared to be an adult. He looked directly at her, then spoke hastily to the two boys before approaching her. "Are you with the other outsiders?" He slowly and carefully asked.  
  
Akira felt immensely relieved. "Yeah... where is everyone?"  
  
The adult took her words in and chewed on them for a minute. "You're not allowed here in Cosmo Canyon.... you are outsiders. You don't have..." He drifted off, hunting for the word.   
  
"Permission?" Akira offered.  
  
The man nodded. "You will stay here with Liko, our chief will call for you later."   
  
Akira sighed and slumped against the wall. She was going to be stuck with a couple of boys who kept talking about her, and she couldn't even tell what they were saying. Liko seemed to notice her distress, and made a suggestion to Miroki, who shook his head in return and pointed out something. Putting it together in her head, her best guess was that Liko wanted to do something with her... maybe show her around? But Miroki thought it was a bad idea... perhaps she was under a house arrest of sorts, like he had been stationed to guard her. Maybe her other friends were being watched nearby? Or... what if she was the only one who was being guarded in such a low-security manner? Then what was that supposed to mean?   
  
Loki seemed to have won the argument, and after a final low-hissed accusation, Miroki walked off down the stone hallway. Akira looked up at Loki, who shrugged and shook his head. After pausing in thought for a moment, he squared his shoulders and offered her his hand. She stared at it for a moment, and when he gave her an encouraging smile, she took it and let him drag her down the hallway. He gave her a complete tour of his home, helping her down ladders, pointing out people going about their daily lives, and Akira took it all in with great interest. She found it completely astounding that people could live such harmonious lives free from technology and outside contact. It was like some sort of strange utopia, hidden here among the grainy sandstone cliffs. And for every person she saw there seemed to be a Moomba following them, assisting in any way they could. It was all strangely awe-inspiring.   
  
t last the day began to draw to a close, and Loki lead him back to the room she had awoken in, and grinning at her, he pushed away the pelt covering his window and leaned out backwards, sat on the sill and scooted backwards until she was certain he would fall, then reached upwards and pulled himself up and out of her sight. Curious to see where he had gone, she quickly leaned out of the window and looked up to see that he had climbed onto the roof. He waved to her and beckoned her up. Being careful not to see how far down her fall would be, she bravely tried to copy what he had done, scooting out on the window sill and staring up. She stretched her arms up and grabbed the edge of the roof, and with some effort she managed somehow to pull herself up. It was worth it.   
  
The view was phenomenal. From her perch hundreds of feet above the ledge the stone city was carved into, she could see all the way across the deep gully to the other side, and the entire world seemed to be set on fire by the setting sun. Even from her view all the way up here, the gully was a deep slash in the earth that seemed to reach into its very center. "Wow..." she said breathlessly, and looked up at Loki, who was positively beaming. "Th...Thanks."   
  
Loki's eyes lit up, for apparently he actually understood what she had said. He bit his lip in concentration, and with a great deal of effort he managed to respond, "You're welcome."   
  
Akira gave him a smile, and soon the sun set and he led her back into the room. Once inside, he quickly assembled some sticks and kindling in the ditch in the floor and used a piece of flint and a blade he produced from a pocket in his tan leather pants and struck up a fire. The room was illuminated by the good-sized blaze, and shadows danced on the walls from the flickering light. Tired from her day's venture, she sat down on the bed and snuggled into the pelts, feeling strangely at home.   
  
Loki's head suddenly snapped up when footsteps approached his door. The man that had spoken to her earlier in English peered in. "Our chief calls for you."   
  
Loki rose and took her hand again, and the two followed the man down the hallway in the opposite direction Loki had taken her, and up a set of stairs that led out into the midnight sky. Akira looked around to see that they had come to the very top of the cliff, and the night sky had exploded into stars overhead. The relevance of the canyon's name finally dawned on her. The lack of moonlight made it hard to make anything out, but in the near distance she could clearly make out a raised platform, and perched upon it was an observatory. So there had been some sort of outside influence after all. Perhaps the chief was an outsider himself? A Wizard of Oz scenario began to unfold in her head as they climbed the metal staircase and walked into the huge building. The inside was lit up with electric lights, but hard as she looked she couldn't spot a single electrical cord. Where was the energy coming from? Across the room near the viewing end of the gigantic telescope that was currently not in use she spotted a few of her friends all grouped together, all dressed like her but only Erik bore decorative painting on his face. Like the rest of the local boys he wore no shirt, but only the deerskin pants and moccasins. "Hey, Poccahontas, over here!" Irvine called out to her, making her roll her eyes.   
  
"Love your pants, Squanto," She quickly retorted as she approached them. "I see you're finally feeling better."  
  
"So have you been out touring the place all day like Erik?" he drawled, looking rather strange without his trademark cowboy hat.   
  
"Um... sorta.. where's Riku?" She asked him, looking around for her friend.  
  
"I dunno... maybe this chief fella will tell us. I haven't seen Jerdania, Red or Sora either... maybe they're patchin' 'em up?" He offered with a shrug.  
  
Akira looked up expectantly when she heard footsteps clanging on the staircase outside, but was taken aback when a bright red lion with a tail tipped in flame entered. "Nanaki." Loki and the nameless man respectively said while bowing their heads.   
  
As "Nanaki" drew closer Akira could see that his hair was ornately braided and beaded, and he had a feather sticking out from behind one of his pointed ears. One of his eyes was closed over by a scar, and his body bore various tattoos. She could hear the decorative cuffs gently clinging on his legs as he crossed towards them, and on his left shoulder she recognized the roman numerals XIII. "Thirteen?" She quietly whispered, and suddenly it all came to her. "Red XIII? You're chief of Cosmo Canyon?" She asked aloud, and the red lion gave her a smile.   
  
"Since Bungahugen (sorry folks, can't accurately remember his name) passed away, I have been chief here. This was his observatory." He explained, proudly looking around. "Our home was quite open to the outside world eighteen years ago," he continued, "until rumors that a dark shadow that had held the world in terror would return. Out of superstitious fear the people demanded that our canyon be kept closed to the outside world to prevent this shadow from coming here. Some still believe the rumors, while others have forgotten it or consider them to be no more than mere tales. Loki for one, regards them as stories told by the elders to frighten children."   
  
Akira took in everything he said, eager to understand. "...and you?"  
  
ed paced under the telescope and gazed up at the domed ceiling, almost as if he could see beyond it. "I have seen the shadow, and I know the ominous danger that shrouds it as it slips across the Planet."   
  
Akira felt chills run up her spine at his words spoken with such mysticism. "Sephiroth." She whispered quietly, and she saw a strange glint in Red XIII's eye.   
  
"I am afraid it would not be of much help for me to explain further without the presence of the rest of your party, especially that of Riku."  
  
"Then....why did you bring us here, exactly?"  
  
"To give you some assurance and put your confused minds at ease. Perhaps you will rest well tonight knowing that you are safe here. Your friends were badly injured, but morning will bring news with it. So tonight I ask you to sleep peacefully, and let your dreams reveal the unknown to you."   
  
With that poetic dismissal, Red XIII turned to Loki and the still nameless man and instructed them something in their language, and after they both nodded in agreement they turned to the small group of tired teens and led them out of the observatory. Akira sighed in frustration as Loki led her back towards the room she was staying in. She had forgotten to ask Red XIII, or rather, Nanaki, where Riku was at. He had said that the morning would bring news, so maybe she would find out tomorrow.   
  
She closed her eyes as she sat down on the bed and listened to the sounds of Loki moving around, shuffling through things and mixing something together. After a few minutes she felt him sit down on the edge of the bed and she sat up to see that he had a small clay bowl half-filled with some strange black substance, as well as what looked like a small painting tool made from a thin willowy stick and a short tuft of fur. He gave her a soft smile and motioned for her to lean closer, and he quickly brushed her hair away from her face and dipped the brush into the ink. What on *earth* was going on? Was this some sort of way of marking her so people would know that she was a prisoner? It was possible, even though she had seen everyone else bearing the same black markings. Perhaps it was an identification system of some sort. Her mind kept reeling as he leaned in close and began to paint her face with the ink, using painstaking detail. He started by putting tiny dots around her eyes, almost Egyptian-style. She closed her eyes so she wouldn't be forced to stare into his face, and waited patiently as he took the brush and made detailed lines around her eyes, bordering in the dots. After what felt like hours he finally stopped, and Akira opened her eyes, only to see that he had produced a second clay bowl holding a red-violet ink. He used the ink to fill in the lines he had put around her eyes, and then sat back to admire his handiwork. Perhaps this was just some strange art form, and he wanted to let her participate in it, like he had in the small town square, where several older women had enjoyed themselves braiding beads and small feathers into her hair.   
  
Loki tilted his head slightly, and then dipped his thumb in the red violet ink and gently streaked it on her cheeks and then took the brush to border them in with black, leaving her with stripes like his, but prettier. He leaned back to admire what he had done, and softly murmured "Waleila" . He seemed satisfied with his artwork and then got up to put the bowls away while she sat still, waiting for the ink to dry and trying to get a clue as to exactly what was going on. He placed the bowls by the bed and then reached under the folds of the pelts and felt around for something, then pulled out a delicately carved wooden box. He sat down cross legged in front of her and placed the box between them, and took off the lid. Inside was a beautiful onyx choker, and a long, graceful eagle feather among other various things, like a pouch made from rabbit fur and some rocks carved to look like animals. They appeared to be everyday things that had to bear some value for him, for he very carefully removed the choker and the feather and then replaced the lid on the box and lay it aside. Akira held still as he leaned forward and partially undid one of the braids that was scattered throughout her hair, and slid the tip of the feather under one of the braids and began to weave it into her braid and slid several beads over it to secure it. He smiled at her and then held the onyx choker in front of her. He was offering it to her. She bit her lip and considered. The choker couldn't be too significant, after all, she had seen the various jewelry other women had been wearing, and it seemed that onyx, silver and turquoise were rather common in the canyon. She reached up under her hair and began to unlace the choker she already wore -the one Erik had picked out for her in Transverse Town, what seemed ages ago-and let him put the onyx choker in its place. The cool stone against her neck made her shiver slightly, but she hoped that Loki didn't notice, lest he take it the wrong way. After all, she had a reputation to keep. 


	33. Canyon of the Cosmos

Chapter 33: Canyon of the Cosmos  
  
Akira woke from her sleep with a start. Such a bizarre dream... she had been having lots of strange dreams lately, she reminded herself as she ran her fingers through her hair, amazed that every single braid, including the eagle feather, had survived her fitful sleep completely intact. She rubbed her thumb over her blurred eyes, and instantly withdrew her hand, fearing she might have smeared the facial paint Loki had applied last night. She checked her fingers, but saw that none of it had come off. She looked out the window and saw that it was still night. The room was dark, as the fire must have died sometime during the night. Loki lay curled up on the rug on the floor below her, sleeping soundly. She bit her lip and pulled her legs up against her chest, wanting more than anything to be with Riku. She had been away from him for only a day, yet she didn't feel that she could remain sane without him for another single minute. She had to find out if he had lived, when he would be better, to tell him everything that had happened... she had to wrap her arms around him tightly and never let go, no matter what. Because she had no guarantee that he would be there forever.   
  
Taking a deep, shaky breath she stood up and quietly padded across the room to the door, and peeked outside. If she was going to see Riku, she would have to sneak out and try and figure out where he was. Better now than never. She stepped out into the hallway and half-expected the ground to creak with her steps as if they were made of wood. She silently wandered down the dark hall, guessing at random where to go. After only fifteen minutes she was already hopelessly lost. Biting her lip, she offered a small prayer, hoping for guidance of any kind. She looked up when she heard something scurrying along the hallway- a Moomba. Smiling and deciding to take it as a sign, she silently followed it from a distance as it took a long path deeper into the rock city. She had a hard time keeping her eyes on it as it moved about rather quickly, and she groaned in frustration as she lost it around a corner. The hallway forked here. She could either take the stairs up to the left, or follow the others down to the right. She closed her eyes and tried to clear her mind, and she felt something pulling on her to go to the right. She yielded to her instincts and climbed down the stairs, and found that she had come to exactly the right spot. She was in a room with several beds, and sleeping soundly in them were her friends, slowly becoming more visible as the sun rose outside, bringing a faint light in through the window. She quietly walked by them, silently saying their names as she passed them. Sora, Jerdania, Irvine... Where were Erik and Kairi? Was this some sort of hospital ward? Her heart leapt for joy when she spotted Riku laying in the bed at the end of the room. He looked amazingly well, despite all he had been through. She knelt beside the bed and leaned on her arms, happy to be close to him again. "Hey Riku." She quietly whispered, joyous when his long, dark eyelashes parted and his eyes flashed in the dark as he looked up at her.  
  
"Akira? What happened to your face?" he asked as he tried to sit up, hissing as he did so.  
  
"Carnival was in town and I decided to check out the face-painting booth." She sarcastically replied, making him give her a grin.   
  
"Well, I can see you've fared pretty well. What time is it any--" he stopped short, cut off when she suddenly wrapped her arms around him, almost cutting off his air supply.   
  
"Riku, I am so happy to know that you're okay." She said, choking on her tears. "I almost went crazy yesterday, having no idea where you were or if you were okay or not..."  
  
Riku smiled and pulled her onto the bed next to him. "I'm fine... guy who patched me up said that I'd be perfectly fine. Or he could have been telling me that I needed to get my foot soaked in hash browns, he was speaking some crazy language I've never heard before."   
  
Akira chuckled and gave him another bear hug, not even caring when Sora woke up in the bed next to them and gave a loud cry and covered his eyes, shrieking, "My eyes! My eyes! I see purple!"   
  
Riku threw his pillow, basically a rabbit pelt full of feathers and sown into a box shape, at his friend in retaliation. "What the heck is purple supposed to mean?"  
  
Sora grinned and caught the pillow as it flew at his head. "Boys are blue and girls are pink. When the two mix you get... purple!" He laughed, chucking the pillow back across the room.   
  
"Shut up, Sora, you're going to wake up the others." Akira groaned, her moment now perfectly spoiled.   
  
"Hey, you two are the ones who decided to glomp and get all mushy."   
  
"Go back to sleep already, lest we ruin your innocent eyes." Riku growled, raising his pillow and threatening to throw it again.   
  
"Fine.. fine... just wait at least until I'm *snoring*, okay?" he implored, laying back down.   
  
That didn't take long. The brunette was soon shaking the room with his thunderous snores within mere minutes. "Reminds me of someone..." Akira said, trailing off in thought.  
  
Riku gave a loud yawn and lazily rest his head on Akira's shoulder, and wrapped his arms around her waist. "I'm sorry that I couldn't be there for you... I tried my best, but I guess it wasn't good enough." He softly said.  
  
Akira smiled and leaned her head against his. "It was good enough for me." She softly reassured him. "When you collapsed out there, it made me realize something... life is so short, you know? And... the human body is just so fragile... and you can die at any given moment. What if you died, and I never got to tell you something? I'd have to live with it for the rest of my life... knowing that I never told you and wondering what would have happened if I did..."  
  
Riku sat up and looked at her, bewildered. "Hey, calm down. I think you've been thinking too much, and you're starting to scare me."  
  
Akira sighed and caught her breath. "Sorry... I've been under a lot of stress lately. You must think I've really gone off the deep end, coming up with all this life-is-short garbage."  
  
"No, it's not garbage... it's true. Life *is* short... but its something I really don't like thinking about. If you start worrying about those things too much, it ruins your life and makes it that much shorter."   
  
Akira took his words to heart and looked out the window to see that the sun was already over the horizon. "Well.. I should probably go now. I had to sneak out past Loki to find you."   
  
"Who's Loki?"   
  
"He's..... never mind, Red XIII is going to explain everything to us later. What matters is that I know where you're at now. I'm going to go now... I'll see you soon, okay?"   
  
Riku nodded and gently kissed her cheek before she set off. Glowing, Akirame all but cart-wheeled back up the stairs, rushing so quickly to get back that she barely noticed as Loki ran right past her, worry all over his face. Apparently he had woken up a few minutes earlier and had been looking for her. Shrugging and making her best attempt to apologize, Akira endured his chastising, even though she couldn't understand him she still had a good idea of what he was saying. She couldn't understand why he kept addressing her as "Waleila", though. A nickname? Or did it mean "outsider" in his language?   
  
Sighing, he took her hand and quickly led her back to the room, evidently just as frustrated as she was. She couldn't wait until Red XIII called them together. Maybe she could have him translate so she could at least get a faint idea of what exactly Loki kept trying to tell her. Perhaps it would even give her a chance to have a decent conversation. She tried her hardest not to laugh as a picture of her and Loki sitting together in some coffee shop together, talking over their cappuccinos while Red XIII sat on a stool next to them, translating while thumbing through the menu.   
  
They both looked up simultaneously when Nameless Man poked his head in and nodded, signaling that Red XIII had called the meeting. At last, she would be getting some answers. They walked out into the hall to see that the rest of her friends were rallied together, all looking refreshed and energetic. Akira and Erik both paused for a minute to look each other over, both of them having been "prettied up" by their new local friend. "You look good." Akira commented on Erik's facial stripes.  
  
"Not bad yourself. So, who's he?" he replied, pointing to Loki.   
  
"The guy who's been watching me since I got here. Is this some sort of house arrest or what? I mean, you got someone following you around too, right?" She asked.  
  
Erik nodded and pointed to the shy girl standing behind her. "That's Milani. She's been a great host."  
  
Finally together, the group ascended the stone stairs to the top of the cliff and walked across the flat mesa towards the observatory. The canyon looked significantly different in daylight, but one felt that they could quickly loose themselves staring up at the endless expanse of open sky. They clanged up the metal staircase and walked into the observatory, where Red XIII was already waiting for them, engaged in conversation with Red the dragon. "Good, you are all finally here. At last I can finally impart some wisdom to you, and hopefully put your questioning minds at ease." Red XIII gracefully said, padding across the metal floor towards them.  
  
Loki and Milani bowed their heads before sitting cross legged on the floor, gesturing for the others to follow suit. As she sat down she could feel the floor humming from an electric current. All eyes turned to Red XIII as he began to speak to them, like children expecting a story. "So, you have heard the legend of Itami from Cloud, I assume. ' Two children with different fathers, born of a great Summoner... one has eyes but does not use them to see the present, the other fated to save the world from transgression...A marked man will find his match... Jenova and Guado meet and will attempt to raise their love of old'," he reviewed. "And the rest is missing."  
  
"Wait, did you say Guado? I thought it was golem." Jerdania asked, being the only one who really remembered the legend.  
  
Red XIII shook his head, making the beads in his hair jangle. "A mistranslation, noted only as of late. There may be many more that we do not know of yet. The legend itself is a riddle, making understanding twice as hard. However, we already have half the answer to this puzzle. The marked man." He stated, letting his golden eyes rest upon Riku.  
  
Riku sighed shakily. "I've.... figured out some of it. Jenova must be Sephiroth. He's been following us lately, and he wants to get his hands on me for some reason. And I know it sounds stupid but.... there's this voice in my head, and its been guiding me this whole time. And now... I think she might be the one who 'has eyes but does not use them to see the present'."  
  
Red XIII nodded approvingly. "If what you say is true, that may be. Has this voice told you anything recently?"  
  
Riku sat in thought. "Something.. really vague. Something about a temple..."  
  
"Temple of the Ancients?"   
  
"Yeah, that's it. I thought they were nothing but ruins."  
  
"They were.... something quite out of the ordinary has been taking place. Ghosts from the past have returned, and places that were once nothing but rubble now are completely intact. The Ancient forest and the inhabitants in it have become extremely distressed about all this."  
  
"The Ancient forest? You've been there?" Kairi asked, her voice soft with awe.  
  
Red XIII nodded. "Red has been there also, I believe. The Guados live there, same as always. I'm quite certain they have something to do with the legend as well. You are welcome to stay here in Cosmo Canyon for as long as you please, but if you do depart, I suggest you head there."  
  
The group exchanged glances with each other, and it was evident that no one was in much of a hurry to leave. After a moment, Red XIII nodded their dismissal. As Akira and Erik rose to leave, he suddenly stopped them. "Oh, by the way," he casually said, "Congratulations."  
  
"Congratulations for what?" Erik slowly asked, exchanging a look with Akira.  
  
"On your engagement."  
  
"OUR WHAT?!" Erik and Akira both shouted out simultaneously, and everyone quickly turned to see what was going on. 


	34. The Cave

Chapter 34: The Cave (aren't I creative?)  
  
Red XIII gave them both a huge grin. "Didn't you know? The face painting and hair braiding is part of a marriage ritual. Your friends proposed, and you accepted. Of course, I'll be attending to the matter of actually performing the ceremony..."  
  
"I am *not* getting married!" Akira exclaimed, and looked up to see that Loki seemed both confused and slightly hurt at her outburst. "I...I mean... I'm not really.... ready for something like this...umm... is there anyway you can like, translate for us while I try and talk to him?"  
  
Red XIII nodded and turned to Loki and hastily said something in their language, and waited while Loki responded. "He says, 'Why are you so upset? You seemed happy last night, and this morning you were beaming.'."  
  
"Tell him that I had no idea what was going on... I thought it was just some sort of fun art project."  
  
Red XIII relayed this message, and Loki looked even more upset, and quickly said something. "He says, 'I am sorry that you are not familiar with our culture, but you can't back out now, you're already mine.' "  
  
Akirame gave a deep sigh, and looked to her friends for help. "But.... I'm..... umm....."   
  
"She's mine." Riku suddenly said, coming to her rescue.   
  
Loki was rather disturbed by this turn of events, but seemed thoroughly determined to win her. "Since when?" came the challenge.  
  
"Since now, so I suggest you back off." Riku smoothly replied, folding his arms.  
  
Loki gave him a look that would have killed. Akirame, or Waleila, his hummingbird, was the first glimpse into the outside world he had ever had. He was completely captivated by her beauty, and the bright colors of her hair and eyes and the way she seemed to buzz with energy, the reason why he had given her her nickname. He had even given her his mother's necklace and eagle feather, the only memories he had of her, for she had passed away when he was only a child. He quickly sized up his rival and confidently smirked. "All right.... we both can't have her so... I'll fight you for her." Came the response.  
  
Riku shook his head. "I don't want to resort to meaningless violence to solve issues. Is there any other way I can claim her?"   
  
"According to our custom, whomever a girl kisses is instantly entitled to her hand."   
  
Riku looked at Akira, who looked defeated. "There's no other way, unless you want me to kill him." He softly told her.  
  
Akira gave a resigned sigh and scowled as all her friends gathered in close to watch. She turned to face him and stared at her feet for a minute, unable to look him in the face. She quickly looked over her shoulder at Red XIII, and Loki, both of whom were watching intensely. "On the cheek?" She asked.  
  
"Nope, on the lips." Red XIII informed.   
  
Akira squared her shoulders and turned back to Riku. "Well... let's get this over with. After this you're going to take me to a nice restaurant for a steak dinner, and you're paying." She hastily said.   
  
Riku gave her a smirk. "You got it."   
  
Akira took a deep breath and closed her eyes, then raised her head and quickly leaned up while puckering her lips. Her lips firmly pressed against his, and she waited, not knowing what to do. But that was all that was required of her. She could hear Loki angrily growl something, and all her friends began to giggle and squeal.   
  
Akira heavily and quickly turned her face to the ground, unable to stand what she had just done. "Hyne, I think I'm gonna die." She muttered.  
  
"So, you guys want to get married now, or what?" Red XIII asked them.  
  
"Huh... I think I'll just stay engaged for now." Riku said, taking Akira's arm and pulling her away.  
  
Akira looked up at him for a moment, and gave a small smile. "Wasn't that bad I guess." She softly said to him, making him stop and look at her.'  
  
"You think so?"  
  
"Um... actually... it was sorta.... nice?"   
  
Riku felt his heart skip several beats. Did this mean... that she actually liked him now? He opened his mouth to ask her, but was quickly cut off by Loki's furious shout. "Um... I think your ex-fiancee is a little unhappy with this."  
  
Akira shook her head and continued to walk. "Ignore him. I'd rather be engaged to you than some strange person who doesn't even speak the same language as me."   
  
Riku grinned. "So, *fiancee*, any ideas for the wedding? OW! What was that for?" He quickly stopped smarting off after she punched his arm.  
  
"I don't see a ring, buddy." She told him, then headed out the door.  
  
"It's on layaway?" He tried, and earned another smack. "Hey, if you beat me up, there won't *be* a ring!"  
  
"Um.. guys?" Erik finally spoke up, making the gang turn their heads to look at him. He was a pathetic sight, looking scared and confused as Milani affectionately clung to his arm. "Guys, what about me?"  
  
"Oh.... right...." Riku said, stopping and scratching the back of his head. "What are we gonna do about Erik?"   
  
"Guys... please?"   
  
Everyone looked at each other for a minute, then looked back at Red XIII. "He can renounce the marriage if he wants to but... she'll be upset."   
  
Erik sighed and looked at the chibi-eyed girl. "Well... I don't want to hurt her feelings or anything but... I'm not really ready for this sort of commitment." He sighed and dropped his shoulders. "Red... um... you're gonna have to break the news to her. I can't... get married.. I'm... just... tell her after we leave, okay?"   
  
Red XIII nodded in agreement and the group resumed leaving the observatory and headed back down into the cliff dwellings to throw their stuff together. Akira kept close to Riku as guilt started to eat at her. No matter what she tried to tell herself, she still felt strangely bad. Riku could sense this as she sat on the bed she had found him in that morning, a mirror in her hand and a Stridex pad in the other, hesitating to clean off the face paint. "I know I want to, but I just can't do it." She sighed. "Maybe I should just leave it all on?"   
  
Riku finished folding a pair of jeans and stuffed them into his bag and looked up at her. "Well... you can wear it until it just fades off, you know?"   
  
Akira nodded and tossed the Stridex pad and mirror away into her own backpack. "I guess... Hyne knows I'll never get over this guilt trip I'm on right now."   
  
Riku finished packing and sat down next to her. "You didn't even know him, how could you possibly marry him? You did the right thing."   
  
Akira sighed and looked up at him. "It felt so.... bad though."   
  
"Well... sometimes the right thing doesn't always feel good. And... just because something feels good doesn't mean it's the right thing to do either."  
  
"What was that supposed to mean?"   
  
"I... really don't know, actually. Just don't let this get too confused with this, okay?" He asked her, pointing to her head and then to her heart.  
  
Akira smiled and nodded. "Got it."   
  
"Well, we're done packing." Irvine said, slinging his bag over his shoulder and approaching them.  
  
"Good, I just have this feeling that we need to keep moving as soon as possible..." Riku responded, standing up and grabbing his gear.  
  
Erik quickly stumbled into the room, Milani fussing over him. "Let me go, crazy lady!" He begged, struggling to get away from her. "Save me!"   
  
Akira laughed and shook her head. "She's got it for you *bad*."  
  
"I know... don't remind me. She all but kisses the ground I walk on." Erik said, trying to pry himself loose from her death-grip.   
  
Riku smirked and waited until everyone was ready. "Well guys, let's get out of here!"   
  
The group eagerly got up and headed out of the room. Red XIII was waiting for them in the hallway with the other Red. "Leaving already?"  
  
Riku nodded.  
  
"There's only one way down into the canyon, it's an underground route that goes down the canyon wall. The entrance is right here in the dwellings, I'll take you directly there."  
  
Red XIII then promptly turned on his heels and softly padded down the hallway, several sets of stairs and finally stopped in a torch-lit cave. At the back of the round sandstone cove was a steel door that looked like it hadn't been used for quite some time. "Here it is." He reared up on his hind legs and pulled down the latch to open the door. "It's a dangerous path, are you sure you're ready?" He asked them.  
  
Riku looked at the others, who were all raring to go. "Bring it!"   
  
Red XIII nodded at them and stepped away as the door swung open. Akira poked her head inside and looked around. She couldn't see a thing, just pitch black. "And... I'm assuming you're going to give us flashlights or torches or something, right?" She asked.  
  
"But of course... here." Red XIII dug through the contents of a box nearby and pulled out several helmets with flashlights attached, as well as some rock climbing gear. "You'll have to rappel down the tunnel until you reach the path.... it's about a 600 foot drop otherwise."   
  
Akira gulped. "I. Hate. Heights."   
  
Riku smiled reassuringly at her as they started strapping on the climbing gear. "Well.. if you do look down, you're not gonna see anything, right?"   
  
Akira shuddered as they finally entered the tunnel. She reached up and flicked on her headlamp, and looked around. The walls of the tunnel were damp and the smell of wet earth was almost overwhelming. The rim they stood on was the only thing between them and a seemingly endless drop. Erik boldly leaned forward over the edge and looked down to see... nothing. Just an endless void. He shoved a small rock with his foot into the tunnel, and no sound was heard as it disappeared.   
  
Akira gave a small whine. "Hyne, I hate this!"   
  
Red XIII clipped the ropes swinging from the opposite wall of the tunnel to their safety harnesses, and showed them how to operate them the best he could. "And that's all there is to it." He finished up as soon as they were ready.   
  
"Well... here goes nothing." Riku said, and bravely stepped off the ledge and swung out over the tunnel's gaping entrance and set his feet on the opposite wall.   
  
One by one the others followed suit, and slowly started to adjust. Red XIII gave them a smile. "Break a leg." He told them, and with that he left and shut the door behind them.   
  
Akira tried to concentrate on anything but the fact that only mere ropes were keeping her from becoming a pancake. She distracted herself by replaying the events of the day as she kicked off the wall and started to descend with the others. She had had to face Loki after the scene in the observatory. Despite her efforts to return the eagle feather and necklace, Loki had only shook his head and insisted she keep them. Surely he didn't think he had any hope of getting her back. Again the guilt came back to gnaw at her, but she remembered what Riku said. "The right thing isn't always what feels best." She said to herself.   
  
After several minutes of moving downwards, Akira became more confident and actually tried looking around and checking out her surroundings. There wasn't much to see, really... just the occasional stalactite or strange cave creature crawling along the wall. The monsters didn't bother her too much, seeing as to how they hadn't tried to leap across and bite their heads off.  
  
Bored, Sora started to talk. "So, how far down do you think we are by now?"   
  
"I dunno... maybe 300 feet." Riku idly responded, looking at his watch and then staring upwards.   
  
Sora looked downwards and gave a small cry of delight. "I can finally see the ground guys! Check it out!" he pointed downwards at the bottom, which was covered with white sand.   
  
Akira felt dizzy when she looked down. The floor had to be at least 70 feet below them. She clutched her rope and closed her eyes.   
  
"Akira, are you okay? Hey, snap out of it, you're gonna twist your rope." Riku said, reaching out to touch her shoulder.  
  
Akira looked over at him, trying to clear her mind. She loosed her grip on her rope, but stopped. There was a strange vibration coming through it. She looked up just as some dust and pebbles tumbled down the wall. Some 30 feet above her, a crab-like creature clinging to the wall had her rope gripped with its pincers... "Oh Hyne, it's eating my rope!" She shrieked.  
  
Riku looked at her wide-eyed then looked up to see that her rope was considerably frayed from the creature's attempts to chew through it. "Don't panic Akira, just move as fast as you can, okay? It's not that much further..."  
  
The group moved towards the ground double-time, and got only ten feet from the ground when suddenly Akira froze up. The others didn't notice until they had already reached the floor. "Akira, get down!" Riku shouted.   
  
Akira gave a small cry. "I can't!"   
  
"Yes you can!"   
  
"No, I can't! If I do, the rope will break, I can feel it!"   
  
Riku tried to take in the situation. He only had a few seconds until that creature would surely eat through the rope. The sand covering the floor was at least 5 inches deep, enough to pad a rough landing... "Jump!"   
  
Akira looked down at him, her eyes wide. "Are you crazy?!"   
  
Riku tried to calm her down. "It's only ten feet, and the ground is soft! I'll catch you, just release the rope from your harness!"   
  
Akira shook her head and clung even tighter to the rope, feeling the frailty of it in her fingers. Her heart pounded in her throat and a few tears streamed down her face. Suddenly there was a loud snap, and the rope shook, swinging her back and forth.   
  
"Akira, just do it!" Riku shouted again, positioning himself right under her. "I swear, I'll catch you!"   
  
Akira whimpered again and tightly closed her eyes, then slowly moved her hand to the clip on her harness. "I'm gonna let go... 1......" another strand of the rope broke, and she clutched the rope again.   
  
"Come on Akira, you can do it!" Riku tried to reassure her, holding his arms up towards her. "Release your harness!"   
  
Akira took a shaky breath and put her hand over the clip. "Alright... one... two... thr-" The last strand of the rope broke, and Akira felt the air rushing around her for what seemed an eternity.   
  
Riku quickly ran under her and thrust out his arms, and caught her in his arms and fell to the ground under her. Akira opened her eyes and looked into his eyes for a second, her face chalk-white with fear. She trembled for a moment, then tightly wrapped her arms around him as he sat up. Riku smiled and hugged her tightly. "You okay?" he asked her.  
  
"Y-yeah... I'm fine..." She said, slowly releasing her grip on him and leaning back, then looked up at the remnant of the rope still swinging in the air. "Wow... that was close."   
  
"Yeah..."  
  
Nearby Sora cleared his throat. "Yo, Action Hero, Damsel in Distress... you two done yet?"   
  
Akira scowled and threw him a hateful look, then stood up and offered Riku her hand and pulled him up. "Thanks Riku." She softly said, still holding his hand.  
  
Riku shrugged and smiled at her. "Couldn't just let you break your neck or anything. I don't wanna carry you to the Ancient Forest."  
  
Akira rolled her eyes. "Whatever."   
  
Riku smirked and put an arm around her shoulders. "Come on, Gravity Girl, I hate the dark."   
  
Akira smiled and leaned her head against his chest as they walked out.  
  
"Show off." Sora muttered under his breath as they proceeded down the dark corridor. 


	35. Guadosalam

Chapter 35: Guadosalam  
  
Akira kept a soft grip on Riku's hand as they walked down the pitch-black tunnel. She had silently vowed that she would never go rock-climbing again for as long as she lived. Looking back on her narrow escape, she had to thank her karma... but wait, did she even believe in karma? Now that she thought about it... what *did* she believe in? Luck, self-reliance, or some strange, outside, otherworldly omnipresent and omniscient force? Did it even matter? Probably not...   
  
The end of the tunnel was within grasp, and there was a bright light illuminating their path ahead. Squinting as her eyes adjusted, Akira turned off the lamp in her helmet and sighed in relief. "'Bout time." She muttered as they approached the exit, and happily stretched out her arms as the warm sunlight touched her skin. "That feels goooood." She sighed.  
  
The floor of the canyon wasn't what they had been expecting. Instead of sand, rock and shadow, there was bright sunshine, grassy earth and trees. "Wow..." Jerdania managed to say, the first to break the silence.  
  
"Yeah.... it's beautiful." Erik added.  
  
Akira blinked and looked towards the towering trees towards the center of the canyon. "That must be it, Guadosalam."   
  
Riku took a shaky breath. They were so close to the end of their journey, he could feel it inside. All their questions would soon be answered. The reason for the scar on his hand, his missing past, everything... "Well guys, let's go for it then." He finally spoke.  
  
They walked through the knee-high grass towards the forest of twisted trees, oddly quiet. The grass slowly faded away to reveal cobblestone, and the whole forest had an air of quiet civilization. In fact, peacefulness emanated from the whole canyon's depths. Riku couldn't explain it but somehow, deep down inside, he felt almost as if he... belonged here.   
  
The group walked into a round room encased within the entangled trees that served as an entrance into the city. A few strange characters lingered in the area, tall fellows with green, gnarled hair that resembled tree roots. One of the brightly clad inhabitants raised a huge, long-fingered and long-nailed hand to salute them, and gave a hint of a smile. "So... that's a Guado, right?" Akira whispered to Jerdania, not wanting to insult the natives with her ignorance.   
  
"Yeah, I think so." Jerdania whispered back.  
  
"So.... uh... hi?" Riku tried, looking at the small welcoming party. "We just.... go in, right?"  
  
The Guados didn't say anything, but merely nodded. With a nervous laugh, Riku approached the entrance. As soon as he set foot on the path leading in, three Guados in formation suddenly bustled up the path and stopped in front of them. The Guado in the middle appeared to be an official of sorts, guessing from his lime-green robe with its multicolor trim. The other two Guado posted on his either side were guards of sorts, toting spears. The Guado in the center cleared his throat and began to speak in a somewhat high, melodious voice, " Greetings, I am Tristen, Steward of Guadosalam."   
  
"Steward? Sounds like someone who works in a cafeteria... ow!" Sora winced as Jerdania elbowed him in the ribs.  
  
"No, you ditz. It means that he's not rightfully the ruler, but taking position as such because the true ruler is gone." She hastily corrected him.  
  
"Indeed. The last true ruler of Guadosalam was Seymour.. but alas, his days ended ages ago, and he supposedly left no heir. Since then only stewards have held the position of mevyn." Tristen told them.   
  
"So this Seymour never had a son or daughter or anything like that, huh?" Irvine asked, crossing his arms.  
  
"There are... rumors, but that is all they are. Mere stories whispered among the trees... well, won't you come in then, we've been expecting you." Tristen invited. With that he respectfully bowed his head and turned to lead them inside.   
  
Guadosalam was entirely carved from the inside of a huge tree, but it was hard to tell exactly as the sky overhead was easily spotted behind the leafy canopy. Homes were quite simply marked by doors carved in the smooth bark, and over a few doors were colorful signs printed in an unreadable language. Everything had a charisma to it, a warm, welcome feeling that smelled of age and wisdom. Nothing here had changed for hundreds of years. Tristen lead them to the grand door at the back of the village, the two gaurds posted on either side bowing as he walked past them and opened the door. From there they walked directly into a beautiful, high-ceilinged room that had a pair of stairs sweeping up either side to a balcony up above. The walls along the staircases had grand portraits of what were presumably great Guado, more than likely mevyns of the past. Erik examined them closely, and came upon a strangely familiar face. It wasn't similar to the others, as it had more... human features. The hair wasn't green and gnarled, but light blue and a few locks of hair were quite longer than the rest, and were spiked in a manner that defied all physics. There were blue veins showing on his forehead... "Ah, I see you have found the portait of the late Lord Seymour." Tristen said as he noticed Erik examining the painting.   
  
"So that's Seymour, huh?" Erik said. He looked closer at the painting, and his eyes suddenly locked with the ice blue ones of Seymour's portrait. A severe chill ran down his spine and he quickly stepped away.  
  
"Is something the matter?" Tristen asked.  
  
"N....no... I'm fine." Erik quickly brushed off, and turned away from the picture. He could have sworn he had seen those eyes somewhere before...   
  
"You are most likely weary from your travels. Come, I'll show you the way to the dining hall." Tristen graciously offered, and opened a door under the balcony and led them into a great hall adorned with tapestries and wall-hangings, and in the center of the room was a huge table bearing every single luscious fruit anyone could possibly think of. Sora took little time getting to the table and quickly began devouring his first victim, a helpless banana. "Sora, slow down." Kairi said, dragging him away.   
  
"By all means, help yourself. We live in plentiful times." Tristen softly said, putting his arms behind his back and watching his guests enjoy themselves. "We have grave matters to discuss, so be cheery for soon you will bear a great weight on your shoulders."   
  
Once everyone had had their fill, they sat about the room in high-backed chairs waiting for Tristen to address them. The Guado paced back and forth across the room, and his young face was etched with worry. "My friends..." He finally began, turning to face them at last, "you have endured much on your journey, and its end is close at hand. Even so the hardest part has yet to begin. Before I can tell you anything of your trials to come, there must be an understanding. An understanding of the past." With that he looked directly into Riku's eyes, as if to suggest that he knew some dark, hidden truth.   
  
"Everything has to do with that story and this scar..." Riku softly said, taking off his glove and staring at the markings in his palm. "....Nakineiri Itami... accepting pain..."   
  
"The only key you have to your journey's end is in your hand, Riku. The weight of the world is on your shoulders."   
  
"But... why me? What does any of this have to do with me?" Riku demanded, curling his hand into a fist.  
  
"You have no small part in this story, Riku... you're the main character. However... I'm afraid I don't have a great understanding of all that has been happening, or even of that legend you speak of... but I do know some things that may help you."  
  
"Then tell me, anything that will help me to understand." Riku replied, resting his head on his fist.  
  
"Time... is no longer abiding to the rules of Order, but has given in to Chaos... or rather... forced, as it were... what is going on is hard to explain by words..." he began, picking up an hourglass that had been hiding among the clusters of grapes on the table. "Time as we know it..." he tilted the hourglass so that the sand began pouring to the empty container, "the present is all we know, and the past, every single second that ticks by, is lost to us forever."   
  
Jerdania nodded, being the only one in the room to have a good idea of what he was trying to tell them. Tristen continued, "However, something has changed. Time no longer abides by the rules, but has been released of its boundries, allowing the past to reunite with the present." And with surprising strength, he took the hourglass and broke it in half, letting the sand pour into a pile on the floor. "Things that no longer existed are living, ruins rebuilt, the deceased walk among us... nothing is in its rightful place in time."   
  
"Woah.... so that would explain Sephiroth, and even Cloud, right?" Jerdania suddenly spoke up. "Time is all screwed up, so now those two are back."   
  
"Exactly."   
  
"So... how long has this been going on, exactly?"   
  
At this Tristen turned away from them and lowered his head. "Exactly... eleven years." He softly spoke, and turned to look Riku in the eyes.  
  
"Eleven years... but.. that's how long I've been living on Destiny Islands!" Riku said, his voice trembling.  
  
"I know." 


	36. Tenshi no Ai

Chapter 36: Tenshi no Ai  
  
"It's... just a coincidence, right?" Riku nervously asked.  
  
"I don't think so. The very date of your arrival and the date on which Time began to rebel are the exact same, you just happened to arrive mere minutes after it began."  
  
"So... you're saying.. I shouldn't be here? Like.. I'm dead or something?"   
  
"Do you remember dying?"  
  
"....No."  
  
"Then apparently you were still alive when you ended up here. Most peculiar... shouldn't have worked out that way at all..."  
  
Riku sat in stunned silence, unable to believe what he was hearing. Completely shocked, he stared at the floor in dumb silence. "So... who all from the past is here now?" Akira asked, a few pieces of the puzzle starting to fit together in her mind.  
  
"As far as I know, Sephiroth is back, as well as Cloud... but there is a third person. I don't know if you have run into him or not... but Lord Seymour was spotted at the Ancient Ruins a month before Sephiroth returned."  
  
Erik felt his heart stop. The icy blue eyes, the ones that had stared into his soul from under that dark hood, back on the airship... everything from his past had come back in that one instant. And most of it had gone just as fast... except for one thing... He quickly shook his head to clear his mind, never wanting to remember any of it. But.. Seymour... a name he had never even heard until now... what did *he* have to do with any of it?   
  
Akira looked between the two boys. Riku and Erik, the two boys she was closest to, completely submerged in thought. Suddenly she was very, very tired. She looked up at Tristen with barely open eyes and tried to focus, but couldn't. The Guado gently smiled when he noticed her head weaving back and forth. "You all must be very weary. Why don't you rest in the guest rooms for tonight? After all, dreams can reveal many things."   
  
The guest rooms were just as lavish as the rest of the Guado manor, the beds were huge, worthy of royalty. The four ornately carved posts bore curtains that swung closed to create walls of velvet around the sleeper. Akira stepped out of her shoes but didn't even care enough to change into her pajamas, and flopped onto her back on her bed. She sighed and closed her eyes, feeling the silky softness of the top blanket with her cheek, then pulled back the corner to reveal the down comforter underneath. She ran her hand over the comforter, feeling the cool, smooth cotton and the feathers underneath. It was all too much. This huge room and this giant bed were far too big after weeks of sleeping in a sleeping bag, surrounded by her friends. Now strangely restless, she rolled onto her side, feeling lonely, and her heart gave a cry at the thought of joining Riku for the purpose of having company. "So inappropriate," she thought to herself as she sat up, "but... I've done it a couple times before, so what's the harm?"   
  
Reaching towards the curtain to part it, she nearly jumped ten feet when Riku's head suddenly popped in. "Hyne! Haven't you ever heard of knocking?" She curtly asked, placing a hand over her chest while regaining her breath.  
  
"Sorry, everyday manners are too confusing for me." He said, inviting himself in and crawling onto the bed.  
  
"Yeah, come on in, make yourself at home." Akira sarcastically said, rolling her eyes and giving an exasperated sigh.   
  
"Don't mind if I do." Riku smugly grinned as he popped off his shoes and socks and tossed them away.   
  
"That is so gross." Akira said, staring at his sizable feet, which were at least two inches bigger than her own. "Ugh, they're huge!"   
  
"What, you just figure that out or something?" Riku teased, proudly placing a foot next to one of hers for comparison. "Dang... they *are* big. Wonder how much bigger my hands are than yours..."  
  
"Hmm... dunno... let me see." She idly said, taking his wrist as he spread out his hand, and she quickly tugged off his glove. "Geez, I hope you don't sleep with them on."   
  
"Hey, my gloves are my own business."  
  
"Thank Hyne. Now shut up, I wanna see how big your hands are." Akira managed to keep a straight face and forced herself to seem disinterested as she placed a hand over his, feeling how warm and rough his palm was.   
  
His fingers stuck up a good inch over hers. Then she realized that she liked big hands. His hands. Ideas began to slowly crawl out from the back of her mind, and she realized that she had been quietly sitting there with her hand touching his for too long. His fingers slipped between hers and curled over her hand. She couldn't look up, but tried just to concentrate on breathing, on something to say or do to break this... thing she was feeling. A few dark, dusty memories returned to her, images of her early childhood. She couldn't even make out the faces anymore, but she knew that it was her father, the person who was shouting at her, threatening her, raising his hand to strike her. Her entire life, that was the image of a male that had been seared into her mind. A raging voice and blood-shot eyes. Tears worked their way to the surface, and she was unable to hold them back. She took a deep, shaky breath and the first few drops of pain trickled through her eyelashes and slid down her cheek. "Akira..." Riku softly said, forced to temporarily release her hand as he sat up and moved so he was facing her.  
  
Akira let her head hang downward and her hair formed a messy, exhausted curtain around her face. She closed her eyes, and felt the warmth of his hand as he cupped her cheek. She couldn't stand it, this warmth that she felt coming from a boy's touch. There was just so much... love, and it was scaring her so badly that she wanted to just run and hide. But she couldn't run, Riku wasn't going to let her, as he had taken a firm grip on her hand. Finally she stopped holding her breath, and let all her pain out in heavy, shaky sobs. "Riku, I'm so sorry." She choked out.  
  
Riku softly shushed her and whispered something so softly she couldn't even make out his words, and his hand lifted her head and brushed the hair away from her face, which was wet from her tears. "Don't be sorry, Akira... you've been holding this in for so long, you need to cry."  
  
How could he have known? She had been forcing the pain into a corner of her soul for so long... he couldn't possibly have known about her father, as the man had simply abandoned her and her mother one day when she was maybe four or five years old. She hadn't met Riku until she was six... "How do you know?" She asked, calmer now but the tears were threatening to come back.  
  
"I've always been able to see pain in people's eyes... and I've seen it in yours for so long... what... what happened to you? What hurt you?"  
  
Akira took a deep breath to calm herself down, and finally looked him in the eyes. "My father. The only thing I can remember about him is... him yelling, always being angry... I always had bruises covering the back of my legs and on my shoulders... Riku, I've never had a boy love me before... and...and I'm scared." She said, causing him to lean back and gently release her hand to give her room. Akira panicked and quickly reached out and grabbed his hand with both of hers. "I'm not afraid of you loving me... I'm just... afraid that you'll abandon me."   
  
Riku gently shook his head. "I'd never leave you Akira, you know that..."   
  
"I know.... but... what if something were to happen to you and I lost you? You heard Tristen... what if, when all is said and done, you have to leave us?"  
  
Riku sighed. It was the same question he'd been wrestling with not too long ago. The question had begun to win, threatening his sanity. So he'd come to her, seeking refuge. And she was looking for the same thing. A safe haven. He craned his neck back and raised an eyebrow when she suddenly parted her arms and held them out in front of her. "....what?"  
  
"I.... was... um.... aren't you going to hug me?"   
  
Riku smiled and mentally slapped himself. He gently took hold of her wrists and ran his hands up her forearms and looked into her eyes. "Do you want me to just hug you.... or would you like it if I held you?" He found his mind fumbling to keep up with what his heart and mouth were doing. He was going too fast, he was going to scare her off, he would offend her...   
  
"Do you... want... to hold me?" She slowly asked, looking up at his face.  
  
Riku felt his heart leap and before he knew it it was answering her. "So badly it hurts." Did it really? He asked himself. Looking inside, he could see the empty hollow in his heart, and knew that no other but Akira could fill it in. And it hurt. It hurt deeply.  
  
Akira looked into his eyes and slowly leaned forward into his arms. She stared into the material of his loose white, cotton T-shirt's collar. Right above it she could see the tan skin of his neck. Everything was so soft. The blanket beneath her, Riku's arms, the shirt that he wore... She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, and the scent of Paupu was deeply embedded in his shirt, but as she leaned her head a little bit upwards she found that a gentle breeze almost seemed to waft from his skin, carrying the ocean's mist to her. She didn't mind when she felt him laying down, didn't protest when he softly stroked her back. Whatever dull ache from homesickness that had eaten at her heart before was now gone.   
  
She found herself in a familiar round stone room. Everything was concealed in shadow, except for the very center, spotlighted harshly by an unseen light fixture. A cloaked figure stood in the silvery light, its back turned to her. She watched as a second cloaked figure walked right past her, unaware of her presence. "You're late." The figure in the center spoke in a soft, overly calm and controlled voice.   
  
"I apologize. Without the presence of Mother I am only skilled swordsman, not the superhero you somehow expect me to be. I can't fly or walk through walls, I have to travel on foot and use doors just like everyone else." The second figure responded irritably in a sonorous voice.  
  
"Why do you continue to hassle them? They are doing a good job of getting here on their own."  
  
"Once again I apologize ---"  
  
"Please, no formality, speak as you normally would."  
  
"Speak as I normally would? I *am* speak--- Fine then. It's the scout, I don't trust him. He has ties to the group now. When the time comes, do you really think he'll be capable of betraying them all like he said?"   
  
"But of course." There was a wicked smile on his lips.  
  
"And what of the reward he requested? Will we really go through all that trouble just for his services?"  
  
"Now, what sort of person would I be if I didn't see to it that every honorable person got their just reward?" The tone of his voice spoke of some dark evil act.  
  
"Ah... I see then. What would you ask of me now, Master?"   
  
"Please, I've asked already that you not use formality. I've never enjoyed putting on airs for society's sake."  
  
The deep-voiced figure growled in frustration. "I told you already, I *am* speaking as I normally would! Now tell me what you want already!!"   
  
"Temper, temper."  
  
The deep-voiced figure visibly tensed. "Yes... sorry. What do you want me to do now?" Came the strained reply.  
  
"Keep tabs on them. If they come across something too difficult, feel free to assist them, but keep strictly anonymous. Do you think you can handle that?"  
  
"Yes, I can handle it," came through clenched teeth.  
  
"Very well then. By the time they reach the ruins, I should have the hieroglyphics translated. Take care."   
  
The second figure bowed his head and turned to leave. " 'Take care'? Who does he think he is, my mom?" he muttured under his breath as he walked down the hall past Akira, who was holding her sides and biting her lip to keep from laughing.   
  
The other figure had apparently heard what he said, but didn't do anything. He finally sighed and walked down the hall after him. Suddenly he paused right in front of her, sensing something. He turned his head and looked straight at her. 


	37. Sehnsucht

Chapter 37: Something I wish I had  
  
Just as the figure reached out to touch her, her eyes opened and the dream dissolved  
  
away. "Great, another one of *those* dreams." she thought to herself as she rolled over to stare at  
  
the ceiling. "That would make this one what, lucky number four or so?"   
  
Another one of those few dreams that were so vivid and lifelike that they were beyond  
  
unnerving. They were downright eerie and the sort that one spends entire hours trying to  
  
decipher. Akira felt like she had already spent too much time trying to figure out what her own  
  
dreams meant. They seemed pretty significant, but the images and scenes were often surreal, and  
  
more often than not things that she'd rather not be foreshadowing of real life. Images of Riku's  
  
death, Erik's restraining hold and two mysterious characters... then again, with all the things  
  
she'd been through already, wouldn't it make sense to give up and accept that she was some sort  
  
of crazy oracle who could foretell the future in her sleep? "Wonderland logic" she dubbed it, for  
  
her travels seemed to rival Alice's in a way. So maybe she wasn't being told cryptic rhymes by a  
  
cat whose face was permanently affixed in a creepy ear-to-ear grin, but her best friend and now  
  
possible love interest being from another time period.... a nice even tie.   
  
"SHUT UP ALREADY!" she screamed at her mind, tired of narrating her thoughts.  
  
"Tumbled down the rabbit hole, that's what I've done. I listened to Riku's rants and arguments,  
  
followed him blindly, and now I'm in a crazy place with crazy people... or is the correct word  
  
mad? I should just take up an English accent and try to reason with chess pieces... oy. Enough of  
  
this stupid high-IQ thinking..." she rolled over back onto her side and tried to come up with  
  
something else to think about until she drifted off to sleep again.   
  
Behind her Riku gave a deep sigh and shifted. "Dang, he's still here? Figure he would've  
  
retreated back to his own room by now.. Oh well, his company is a comfort. Now, what to mull  
  
over..." her mind floated towards Riku. Just the little things, for starters... like his profile, his  
  
hair, the way he always carelessly tossed his shoes and socks off, ugly, worn-down, hole-filled  
  
socks which would crawl under tables, beds and other various upholstery of their own accord,  
  
probably trying to hide from their own scent... she stuck her tongue out at the thought of  
  
following him all day long with a can of Lysol, trying her darndest to sanitize his feet and  
  
anything they'd touched. "Stop thinking about those feet already, what else about him?" his  
  
hands. Big palms, long fingers, rough and calloused... but always warm, like when he had held  
  
her hand or cupped her cheek.   
  
She shivered and rolled over again, and now was facing him... or at least his back. He was  
  
at least a good foot taller than her, and was by far stronger than her..... how much would it take  
  
for him to raise a hand and send her flying across a room? How did she know he wouldn't do that  
  
if provoked or angered? She may have lived with him... but something told her that she had only  
  
seen one side of him, that she had only seen one side of the card.   
  
And then... was it smart to get attached to him anyways? If he did in fact end up leaving  
  
her like her father had, whether by his own doing or not, the pain would be less if she weren't  
  
close to him. Then again... if he did indeed leave, would she forever regret that she had not taken  
  
the chance, and had allowed herself to love him? Was she going to get any sleep at all tonight?   
  
Now having worked herself into a frenzy and fully awake and frazzled, she sat up and ran  
  
a hand through her hair. Surprisingly, Riku had slept through her whole struggle. "Wonder how  
  
he does it.... everything that's been thrown at him, and here he is, sleeping soundly, peacefully  
  
even. Man, that is just so *unfair*!" she thought.   
  
A throbbing pain had settled into her left temple, and she put a hand to her head. Her  
  
brain had had enough of her panic, and was eager for her to shut up and give it a rest. "This ain't  
  
gonna go away..." she crawled to the edge of the bed, slipped out through the curtain and walked  
  
over to her backpack, which was settled on a nearby chair, in all its travel-worn glory. She  
  
rummaged through it, found her small bottle of Advil, and headed towards the bathroom,  
  
stopping to squint as she flicked on the lights and was blinded. She walked across the stylish  
  
marble floor, picked up a polished glass from the counter and filled it with water. She took a sip  
  
before popping the pills into her mouth, swallowed, put the glass back down, sighed, stared in the  
  
mirror. "Man, I look wasted." She said aloud in a tired, cracked voice.   
  
She felt oddly secure, standing alone in the bathroom with the door closed. Completely  
  
relaxed, she found herself staring off into space, looking at an unseen point in the smooth counter  
  
top. Following the veins of gold in the milky white stone, her mind wavered from subject to  
  
subject. Suddenly an idea struck her. What if, against all odds, she managed to pass Riku on her  
  
way out of the bathroom back to the bed? Would she stop and talk to him, ignore him, or.... she  
  
blushed madly and attempted to try and stop her mind, but the temptation was too great. Yes, she  
  
would suddenly strike then. Walk right up, plant a firm kiss on his lips, then high-tail it back to  
  
the safety of the bed. That would pretty much solve all her questions, seeing what his reaction  
  
would be. Of course, unless he was in a semi-brain-dead state, and wasn't aware of anything at  
  
all. Suddenly there was a brief knock on the door, and she found herself stuck to the ceiling,  
  
trying to calm her heart down. "What?" She asked upon prying her fingernails out of the stucco  
  
and turning to face the door.   
  
"I was wondering where you went."  
  
"Riku, I've only been in here for like, 45 seconds."  
  
"Whatever, just get out, would you?"   
  
Akira rolled her eyes and opened the door, and she quickly found that as brave as one can  
  
be in their imagination, in real life we are all chicken. Her heart raced, and she quickly looked  
  
away from him and eyed the bed. However, her feet thought differently than her brain, and were  
  
firmly planted on the spot. She could feel Riku's questioning gaze, but she refused to meet it.  
  
"Aki?" he nervously looked over his shoulder, and when he didn't see anything he looked back at  
  
her, to see that her eyes were set on his face. "Snap out of it, you're scaring me...."  
  
"Come on Akira.... you can do it.... just force yourself!" She mentally growled, and felt  
  
her body begin to obey. "Now, make it quick, like a drive-by shooting.... sort of." With surprising  
  
quickness, her feet moved forward, bringing her right in front of Riku. "Can't stop now, do it!"  
  
She raised her head, leaned up, forward, and firmly pressed her lips against his, and her eyes  
  
instinctively closed. "1.....2.....3.......4....how long should I stay? 6......7.... that's enough, let go."  
  
she drew back, put her head down and quickly shot towards the bed, but a strong hand reached  
  
out and hooked her shoulder.   
  
"Aki..." Riku's voice was soft, yet she could feel the strength in his arm. Her heart beat  
  
uncontrollably fast as she froze in place, not sure what to expect. He drew her back, and she  
  
slowly turned to face him. "Aki, why?"   
  
Akira felt as if her heart would shatter. He was demanding an explanation.... "I..... I had to  
  
know." She wanted desperately for him to leave.  
  
"Know what?"  
  
"Do you love me or not? Stop playing games with me!" She angrily barked at him, and as  
  
soon as she said it, she stepped back, not wanting him to answer.   
  
"Is that what all of this has been about? The whole entire trip, that's why you've been  
  
distancing yourself, then tormenting me by drawing close?" he shot back. "How could you have  
  
not known? Can't you tell? Akira, I'm *madly* in love with you!!"   
  
Akira didn't know how to respond. At last, the truth was hers, but she had learned also  
  
that in attempting to get it, she had wounded him, just as badly as she had hurt herself. "Well  
  
why didn't you just tell me then? Did you expect me to just magically know these things? I have  
  
been hurt *so* many times just trying to find out!"  
  
"Why couldn't you just ask, instead of experimenting and playing games with my heart?  
  
Every time I thought you were in reach, you'd jerk back and isolate yourself, always staying just  
  
where I can't reach you!"   
  
"Because I was afraid of what you'd say!"   
  
"What, were you afraid that'd I say yes?"  
  
"No, I was afraid that everything I'd ever given you, all the trust I put in you and our  
  
entire friendship..... that it would be ruined, because you would say no... and if you had, I would  
  
have died, Riku. I would have died, because that meant that everything I finally found out that I  
  
truly wanted was just a fairy tale, that it would never be real, and that I had wasted *years* of my  
  
life for nothing!" Akira's eyes widened, and she turned away, having to go anywhere, just as long  
  
as she could leave. Never in her life had she ever poured out the truth.   
  
Riku chased after her. "Don't you dare turn on me, you started this, now you're going to  
  
finish it." He firmly reached out and caught her wrist and spun her back around.  
  
"What do you want from me?!"   
  
"I want your love." He gently responded. He couldn't afford to mess up again, everything  
  
he had longed for was so close at hand....  
  
"I....can't give it to you Riku."   
  
"......but why?" came back in a soft, barely audible whisper.  
  
"Because.... I'm afraid of losing you. I'm afraid of being hurt."  
  
"Oh, Aki..." Riku put his hands on her shoulders and looked her in the eyes, needing  
  
badly to somehow express how he felt, as there was no way, in any language or sound or action,  
  
that it could be explained. "I will never be able to love anyone as much as I love you, Akira.... my  
  
heart is totally devoted to you. If I can't have this, I'll spend the rest of whatever time I have  
  
screaming for it."  
  
Akira couldn't believe what he was saying. It had to be a lie, there had to be something he was trying to get from her. She looked into his eyes with indignation, trying to pry the truth out of him. "I...I don't believe you." She forced out.   
  
"What? After that yelling contest we just had? I'm pouring my heart out to you Akira, what do you want from me?"   
  
Akira looked away and looked out at the bedroom. "I don't know.... how do I know that all you want from me is like... my body? How do I know that you don't want to hurt me? Or take advantage of the fact that you just might be a time-traveling-"oops,-guess-I-gotta-go-soon-how-about-a-goodbye-kiss?" player?"  
  
Riku drew his head back in bewilderment. "What on earth are you talking about? I think you're crazy!"   
  
Akira growled in frustration and folded her arms. "This isn't going anywhere.... I need to calm down and think."  
  
Riku leaned back and watched her, realizing the fact that this must be what all girls are like. He'd seen a soap opera once, he knew that one moment they would be clinging to you, the next they were throwing expensive vases at your head. Perhaps this was what they called P.M.S.  
  
Soon he could sense that she wasn't going to give him the answer he wanted, and he jumped, not wanting that to happen. He slowly moved closer to her and put his hands on her arms. "Aki, don't do this to me."  
  
She raised her eyes to look up at him, so many emotions struggling for dominance, she was completely unreadable. "I don't think I can trust you, Riku..."  
  
"Why not?"  
  
"I just can't.... After what my dad did to me and my mom, I don't trust any male."   
  
"What did he do to you?" Riku softly asked, letting his forehead touch hers.   
  
Akira quickly jerked away and stared at him. "Don't push me, Riku." She firmly growled.   
  
Riku had had enough by now. As she walked away, he grabbed her wrist, swiftly spun her around for the second time that night, and as she hit the wall behind her he put his hand on both her shoulders, pinning her in place. If he had to drag it out of her by force, so be it. But it was late, he was far too stressed as it was to put up with this. "Talk to me, now!"   
  
Akira whimpered and turned her head away, her face and tears covered by her hair which had fallen over her face. She braced herself, waiting for his hand to break her down. After a few moments, she relaxed and finally looked at him, too afraid to say anything. "Aki.... don't hurt me anymore like this, you're killing me. Just listen to me, please."   
  
Akira tried to calm herself down, but her body was shaking from the adrenaline. "What?" She said in a shaking voice.   
  
Riku sighed and softened his grip. "Let me love you."  
  
Akira could hear the desperation in his voice. "Let me go."  
  
"Only if you'll put your arms around me and tell me that you love me."   
  
Akira didn't run when he released his grip, but closed her eyes and put her arms around his waist and lay her head on his chest as he put his own arms around her. "I love you." She softly whispered, and felt him hold her tighter.   
  
"Let me kiss you." He softly whispered into her ear, drawing her face up so he could look into her eyes.   
  
Akira gave in and closed her eyes, accepting his lips as they pressed against hers. Everything would be fine.  
  
  
  
Akira mumbled in protest as bright rays of light filtered into the room, spotlighting her  
  
face. "I shouldn't even have to get up." She said as she rolled over and wrapped an arm around  
  
Riku's waist.   
  
Las night had been simple, but perfect and pivotal in itself. A sweet kiss, nothing more was needed. Yet the simplicity of it all was overwhelming. Love... just love. Nothing else. She happily hugged his warm body and felt him stir. He rolled over to face her and looked her in the eyes, seeing that some, but not all of her fear had faded with the night. "Are you going to run?" he softly asked her.  
  
Akira shook her head and held still as he pulled her close. "Don't be afraid of me." He softly said.  
  
"I'm trying."  
  
He sighed and gently rubbed her back, feeling her tense muscles relax and finally melt. "I just want you to trust me in everything." He took her hand and put it on his chest, letting her feel his heartbeat. "I'm just as fragile as you are."  
  
Akira fought to free her heart from the old tangled chains of her childhood fears, realizing it had been thirteen years since a man had raised a finger to harm her. It was time to move on. "I'm trying."   
  
Riku gave a vague smile. She was making an effort. He quickly changed the subject to help her relax and try and settle back into a normal routine. "What time is it?"   
  
"No idea...." She yawned and sat up next to him. "Do you know what we're going to do  
  
today?"   
  
"I don't know.."   
  
Akira sighed and crawled off the bed and went about finding some clothes to wear.  
  
"You'd best hurry to your room... don't want the others getting any ideas, you know?"   
  
Riku smirked and playfully tugged on a lock of her hair. She was feeling comfortable already. "Good point... but they'll find out one way or another, you know."   
  
Akira smiled as he left and quickly got cleaned up. So she had finally given in to him.  
  
There was more to be found in him than she would ever be able to comprehend. She could  
  
tell his wasn't some stupid and foolish crush that is based on physical attraction, the sort that  
  
young adolescents find and declare it to be real, like a crazed miner with fool's gold. This was  
  
genuine, the kind of love that would always exist, no matter the consequences. He was sharing it  
  
with a person he could see himself being with, even as she became old and derelict. And it had  
  
happened to her, of all people.... she would never know why.   
  
After getting the last tangle out of her hair, she stared at her face in the mirror for a  
  
minute, reliving that kiss. Already she longed to be at his side again, even though he had  
  
only been gone for a few minutes. Hastily she headed out of her room and walked down the hall,  
  
looking everywhere for a mere glimpse of him. Soon she felt a pair of strong, warm arms wrap  
  
around her waist, and she leaned backwards to accept the embrace, closing her eyes and sighing.  
  
"Hello to you too." Erik replied.   
  
"Erik?!" Akira yelped, jumping out of his arms and sticking to the ceiling, much like the  
  
previous night. "What do you think you're doing?!"   
  
Erik's face turned red with laughter as he held his sides. " I just had to do it, but I was  
  
hoping you would jump *before* I spoke. What's your problem?"   
  
Akira scowled at him and folded her arms, walking double pace towards her room. "I  
  
thought you were someone else..."  
  
Erik quickly overtook her and stepped in front of her, and leaned forward so he could  
  
look in her eyes. "I think you're in love with someone."  
  
Her cheeks burned, and she kept trying to turn her head to avoid his gaze. "It's none  
  
of your business." She muttered.  
  
"Oh, the sweet everlasting melody of love." Erik said in a wishy-washy voice, clasping  
  
his hands and making his eyelashes flutter.   
  
She growled and pushed him into her bedroom. "For your information, I happen to be  
  
falling in love."   
  
"No kidding?! Who is it?" he demanded, standing in front of her with an eager expression.   
  
Akira smirked. "You'll never know." She quickly shut the door and pulled up a nearby  
  
chair, tilting it backwards and jamming it under the doorknob to trap him. With a satisfied  
  
expression she nodded to the door and turned on her heel to continue down the hallway. "Mustn't  
  
pry into other people's business."   
  
She wandered down the hall a bit, then stopped and looked over her shoulder. She didn't  
  
have the faintest idea as to where she was headed. Sighing, she leaned against the wall and  
  
stopped, thinking. "Okay.... maybe I should go back and see if Riku's in his room.... once I figure  
  
out which room is his..." she thought, turning around and walking back.   
  
After a while of staring at the different doors, she realized this was going to be awkward.  
  
She randomly picked a door, knocked and waited. "Yeah?" Riku's voice responded.  
  
What luck. "Hey Riku." She quietly said.   
  
The door soon opened and Riku greeted her with a hug. "I'm starved."   
  
"Me too." he agreed, letting her go. "I wonder where on earth the kitchen is."  
  
Sora soon emerged from his own room, sniffing the air. "If you're looking for food,  
  
follow me." He said, following his nose.   
  
Raising their eyebrows, Akira and Riku shrugged and followed the faithful brunette  
  
bloodhound, who led them around several corners, and behold, a breakfast banquet! Sora  
  
bounded happily towards the tables of food, snatching a plate and drooling over the various  
  
dishes. "Well, he is useful." Akira sighed, calmly retrieving a plate.   
  
It wasn't long before the others found their way here in one way or another, and they all  
  
joined at the same table, most of them shooting glances at Akira and Riku, who sat next to each  
  
other, lost in their own little world. Irvine shot a questioning look towards Jerdania, who in turn  
  
looked to Kairi, who was the only one who seemed to notice that Erik and Red were missing. At  
  
last Irvine cleared his voice and looked at the couple in question. "Hmm?" Akira asked, looking  
  
at him.  
  
"Um... you and Riku.... are ya'll... ya know..."  
  
"Are we what?"  
  
"Um...like..."  
  
"Boyfriend and girlfriend?" Riku asked.  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Maybe."  
  
".....'maybe'?"  
  
Akira smirked and ate another bite of her waffle, then looked back at Riku, who was  
  
doing likewise. They were going to drive them all up a wall like this. What sweet, sweet revenge.  
  
Then again, not too long ago had she learned that revenge was overrated and often backfired....  
  
how ironic, the way everything had turned out in the end. Relaxed, she let her hand rest on  
  
Riku's knee, who in turn put a hand over hers and looked at her. She tilted her head and looked at  
  
him, her eyes glimmering. The entire group stopped and looked at the two, their eyes quickly  
  
darting from Akira to Riku, waiting to see what he'd do. Riku smiled, then leaned over and  
  
gently pecked her lips before going back to his food. Four forks and jaws dropped simultaneously  
  
with a loud clattering. "No way!" Irvine exclaimed in awe. "You two finally hitched up!"   
  
Akira leaned against Riku and smiled. "Something like that."   
  
Erik tried jerking the doorknob again, but to no avail. The chair was doing its job.  
  
Sighing, he opened the door as far as it would go, then peeked out the small crack to see if  
  
anyone was out there. He heard Red speaking to someone, and he opened his mouth to cry for  
  
help, but something told him to be quiet. "...so that's the plan then?" he was saying.  
  
"Exactly. It's up to you to isolate the target."  
  
"But why so elaborate? Wouldn't it be simpler just to kill them?"  
  
"No, we have to make the target willingly cooperate with us."  
  
One of them sighed. "He must be out of his mind, expecting us to go through all of this  
  
trouble.... wait, are you sure we're alone?"   
  
"Yes, why?"  
  
Erik froze and quickly backed away from the door, looking for a place to hide. He spied  
  
the wardrobe, and quickly climbed inside and closed the doors, and peeked out of the thin crack.  
  
He heard someone removing the chair and walk inside, and his heart pounded in his ears. "Oh  
  
Hyne, don't let them find me...." Footsteps approached him, and he saw an unfamiliar person  
  
looking around the room, then look straight at him. He drew his head back and held his breath.   
  
" 'ello, Erik." the stranger said, standing in front of the wardrobe before opening the door 


	38. Alice's Resturaunt

(A/N: READ THIS OR THINGS AREN'T GONNA MAKE SENSE IN THIS CHAPPY: I shall never write without an pre-planned outline again. As I have written this story, the plot has undergone various changes... things mentioned earlier that were once significant now barely fit in at all... why am I bringing this up? Because.... in the last chapter, (chapter 37) you heard Red saying "He must be out of his mind... blah blah blah..." a grammatical error... it was meant to say "You must be out of your mind, expecting me to go through all of this trouble." Angry music makes you write strange things. Thank you.)  
  
Chapter 38: Never write without an outline... you did read the author's note, right? If not, you should.  
  
Erik gave a sheepish grin and waved. "Hi!" After all, he was doomed, so why bother running?   
  
"So I'm assuming that this is who you were mentioning earlier." the stranger said in his deep, rich voice, turning to look at Red, only his pale lips showing under the shadow of his hood, his long, black leather cloak helping him keep his anonymity. To Erik he seemed to resemble either a dark Jedi or a monk with good taste in style. Was this man about to use the Force on him, or would he take out a fifty-pound book containing holy writings and smite him by beating him with it?   
  
Red sighed and nodded. "He holds more potential than he appears to."   
  
The stranger stepped back. "Tell me Erik, what were you doing in this closet?"  
  
"Akira locked me in here."   
  
"What, can't you open the wardrobe from the inside? And if it were truly locked, why was I able to open it?"   
  
Erik shook his head, feeling a great distrust for the stranger, and his heart beat wildly at the idea of Red being a usurper. Then again, perhaps there was something entirely different going on, he didn't hear their entire conversation. "Well, I tried."  
  
The stranger allowed Erik to step out. He had no way of escaping, as they both stood between him and the door. "You wouldn't lie to us, would you, Erik? After all, lying never gets us anywhere, does it?"  
  
Erik nervously swallowed and shook his head. "N-no... I didn't hear anything."  
  
"Oh, so you must have been near the door after all. Tell me what you heard, and I will ease your mind."   
  
"Uh..... nothing?"  
  
"Mmm-hmm." he reached into his pocket to get something.   
  
Erik's forehead beaded with sweat, and he quickly spilled his guts, deciding that perhaps today was not a good day to die. "Okay! I heard something about a plan and a target, but that's all I know!" he covered his head with both hands.   
  
The hooded man hesitated, raising an eyebrow, then finished pulling his flask out of his pocket and took a drink. "See Red? I told you, trying to be so secretive and afraid to let your plans be known leads to many complications. You have to remain calm and know how to handle the situation."   
  
Erik looked at the two, wondering what to think. He had known Red for as long as he could remember, so he could trust him, right? "What do you want from me?"  
  
"You seem to be under the impression that we're here to harm you."  
  
Erik didn't respond, not knowing what he should say.  
  
"I ensure you, I'm harmless."  
  
Erik narrowed his eyes. He'd seen countless movies in which the villain employ countless tactics, including the "don't-worry-I'm-harmless-and-on-your-side" ploy, the "join-me" ploy... "You care about the well-being of your friends, don't you Erik?"   
  
"Is this blackmail?" He could sense the cloaked man smirking under his hood.   
  
"Not at all...it just happens that we share the same interests. I can help you, and perhaps you can help me. Thirsty?" He held out the flask towards Erik, who sniffed it, discovered it was water, and took it while keeping his eyes on the stranger.   
  
Neither Red nor the yet unnamed stranger made any move or showed any reaction when Erik took a small sip, but they did fall silent for a short moment. After Erik handed the flask back, the conversation quickly picked up again.   
  
Erik sighed and folded his arms. "Fine, tell me what you've got that I could possibly want. Keep my mouth shut and no one gets hurt, right?"   
  
At this the cloaked man actually chuckled. "No, I have a different angle on this. We're both looking for something, you and I. Red here has been telling me that you've been seeing.... visions. Am I correct?"  
  
Erik paused. "Visions...."  
  
"Images of a woman and a young child, if I am correct."  
  
Erik looked directly into the stranger's eyes. "Yeah... for a long time..."   
  
The stranger smiled and exchanged a look with Red. "Do you wish to find the meaning of them?"   
  
Erik nodded. "Heck ya! I mean... you think you can help me?"  
  
Red exchanged another glance with the cloaked man, who continued on, "Possibly, if you help me in return. Today Tristen will be leading you to the Ancient Temple to examine some artifacts that have to do with Riku's mission. Hidden within the temple is the entrance to the most sacred place... the Farplane. There will you learn the truth of your past. Now, all you need to do for me is make sure that Riku goes with you. No one else, just him."  
  
"Well... why him?"  
  
"Trust me, his safety is in the best interests of everyone."  
  
"Okay... but still, why all this backstage action? Can't you just go and talk to him directly and lead him there yourself? What do you need me for?"   
  
The stranger sighed and shook his head. "First of all, Riku would be twice as likely to turn me down, he's distrustful by nature. Second, there is a charm that has been placed on him. I can't touch him."  
  
"Ah.... then wouldn't that mean that charm is meant to *keep him safe*?"  
  
"Perhaps.... but what if it were not a charm, but a curse, meant to hinder him in his progress? Come on, reasonable doubt, Erik. Be open-minded for me, or else we won't be getting anywhere with this. After all, how long can you possibly live sane, never knowing the truth about your parents.... and the death of your father."  
  
Erik shuddered and looked away, a dark shadow settling over his face. Various images flashed through his mind, like blurred photographs. He could remember watching his father's eyes, ice blue and wide with surprise, the life in them slowly fading away as his body went cold and collapsed on the ground. Then there was smoke... flames.... something had fallen into one of the burners on the stove. Through all the flames, he could make out a figure, someone trying to rescue him.... "My father.... died from a heart attack. I should know, I was there the night it happened."   
  
"Oh really? Why did you run, then? You should have known that your little friend Kira and her mother would have gladly taken you in. Or did you fear being lost in the system? The *legal* system?"  
  
"What are you trying to get at?!" Erik angrily growled, curling his hands into fists and bringing his face right up to his cloaked accuser's. "Are you trying to say that I'm responsible for his death?! My father was a good-for-nothing drunk and the only thing he was capable of was beating me until one of us passed out. He may have deserved to die, but I didn't murder him, and I didn't cause the fire."   
  
Throughout this tirade both Red and his mysterious acquaintance remained calm and simply watched, neither raising a hand to strike him down. "I like the fact that you stand up for yourself, Erik. Perhaps it would be in your favor if you knew who I was. Allow me to introduce myself," and with this he pulled back his hood, and his eyes shone a brilliant golden amber, "As Ansem."   
  
(A second author's note: sorry about this chapter being pathetically short, I have been pressed for time, and I thought I'd make this a nice cliff-hanger... but I promise, give me just one or two days and I'll have the next chapter up. Oh, and when you people email me to nag me about writting another chapter, please include what website you read my story on, and if you review, include your alias... why? Stats, people... it's all science.) 


	39. Ansem, Seeker of Wisdom

(A/N: Yes, that's right... Ansem! My most beloved video game villain ever... I couldn't help but have him in here, even though I didn't originally plan to... it's his voice, he has the sezziest voice... *sighs* plus he was a complete maniac who lives in a freakin castle with floating rocks, what's not to like? I noticed some of you hate him... put up with it! Now at first he seems to be a bit ditzy like the normally beloved Sora... I was in a funky mood, I'll do him justice later.)  
  
Chapter 39: Ansem, Seeker of Wisdom  
  
Erik stared up at the man's tan face and piercing eyes. He had a smug expression, his smile twisted, almost in irony if not insanity, his greyish eyebrows poised, only adding to the effect. Clearly, he was pleased by Erik's dropped jaw and stare of disbelief. "What's the matter Erik? Can't believe your eyes?"   
  
"Ansem.... lived hundreds of years ago, when all that castles and kings stuff was going on... in fact, he himself was a king. He was supposed to be totally into all that wisdom stuff, and drove himself mad with his experiments and search for 'ultimate knowledge of the truth'. Dude.... you're freakin' crazy! You can't be Ansem!"  
  
Ansem dropped his smile at Erik's response and rolled his eyes. "I'm not crazy. Crazy is if you're homeless and live in a cardboard box. I however, have plenty of money and my home is a sizable castle of sorts. I'm eccentric. Besides, my complete devotion to the search for knowledge will one day benefit my kingdom as well as all mankind. And I didn't drive myself mad, I've just spent the past year or two buried in books and research without ever coming out of my room is all."  
  
"Whatever, but what the heck are you doing here in flesh and blood, rather than just being a lousy drawing accompanying four or five pages in my history book?"   
  
Ansem sighed and finished pulling his lavender-grey hair out of the cloak, letting it fall over his shoulders and rest just above the bottom of his shoulder blades. He couldn't stand the feeling of his hair getting plastered with sweat and sticking to his back as the temperature in his cloak continued to rise. Ah, the great sacrifice of comfort one must make in order to keep one's identity a secret while trying to keep up to date with the current trends in fashion. "After several long months of thorough research and many disastrous failures, I managed to successfully create a portal that let me travel through time."  
  
Erik idly whistled the theme to Twilight Zone while somewhere in the room a cuckoo clock went off. "Right. So what brings you here, your highness?"   
  
Ansem folded his arms in disgust. "Why is it that no matter where I go, I'm always met with the same sarcasm and disbelief? I know my claims are somewhat skewed, but you figure somewhere there's someone open-minded enough to listen."   
  
"Hey, if you wanted someone to believe you, you would have headed to one of the local colleges and crashed a dorm party. Besides, isn't telling everyone where you're from disrupting the time-line and destroying history as we know it?" Red quickly replied.   
  
".....I'm not answering that. Besides, I'm not directly meddling, I'm just observing while helping things happen. That's what I came here to do. Observe and further deepen my understanding."   
  
Erik shook his head and looked at the two. With this high level of intelligence and firmly founded logic, they definitely weren't people to worry about. "Right, so what ultimate truth has brought you to the 21st century?"   
  
  
  
"The prophecy that your friend Riku is about to reveal, of course. You see, the legend of 'Nakineiri Itami' was written even long before my own time, back when the Ancients, people who were blessed by Hyne himself with great wisdom and understanding, first built the temples here in Cosmo Canyon."  
  
"Hyne... so now you're bringing religion into all of this?"   
  
"Religion is truth, Erik."  
  
"Maybe in your time, but now, everyone believes something different, everyone has their own truth."   
  
"But how can that be? There can't be two absolute truths, you know. If you introduce a second truth to a world which already has one of its own, you bring chaos and ruin."  
  
"Well, that's why people who believe in Yevon like to kill everyone who believes in Hyne and force them to join their own religion, while even those who believe in something else, those who claim to love all and accept all, fight with each other and split up into their own groups. That's why there's denominations. No one agrees on just one truth."   
  
"That's because mankind is normally self-absorbed and cares more about its own opinion than others, and quickly becomes hard-hearted and refuses to listen to what others have to say. But I'm jumping in far too fast... I'll tell you everything once you're in the temple, it will help you understand everything that is about to happen."  
  
"You're coming with us?"   
  
"Well of course, how else did you expect him to observe the prophecy finally being fulfilled, buy the DVD when this great event is bought by Hollywood?" Red cracked.  
  
"You have a point there. So I guess there's three of you time-traveling crazies around now, huh? You, Sephiroth and Seymour... what a bunch. All male and all insane."   
  
"Eccentric. For the last time, I'm *eccentric*."   
  
"Whatever. So what am I supposed to do now? Just... sit by and make sure Riku goes into the Farplane?"   
  
"Exactly. If I'm going to meddle, I might as well make sure things occur as accurately as possible. Riku goes, but now you're going to be there too. After all, if I want to better mankind and let them find their own understanding, I should help you find truth as well. This should make a very interesting report once I return home."  
  
"You realize that if you record everything that happens here, go home and some one reads your findings, you're going to mess up history, right?"  
  
"I'm not answering that either."  
  
"So... how do you two know each other? Meet each other at a time-traveling convention?"   
  
"No... I was alive the same time he was, remember? I'm seventeen-hundred. I assure you, I was there. I was a good friend of his, and gave him advice on how to keep the kingdom in line."  
  
"So were you there when he went nuts and locked himself in his room for two years?"   
  
Red sighed. "Yes... and it did surprise me at first to see him when he finally came back out... in this time period. It's hard to explain, to know that you'll see your friend in the distant future, yet be talking to him at present... oh forget it, it's impossible to explain. Point is, I'm here, he's here, you're here."  
  
"Okay then... so Riku and I head to the Farplane then."  
  
"Quite. That's the way you'll find out the truth about your past. Within the Farplane is a... you can't really say a person, but an entity of sorts, the Oracle.. She sees all, knows all.. But only tells one answer. And she'll only take a small number of questions a year. Usually five... and even then, the highest number of people she'll see a day is two. So you must be discreet and wise with this."   
  
"The Oracle, huh? She got a name?"   
  
"Well, yes... but no one uses it, seeing as to how it's not the appropriate title to use when addressing her."   
  
"Hmm.... well if this is the only way I'm going to find out anything... and if you truly aren't out to hurt anyone... I have no choice but to do as you say and see what happens."   
  
"Good... very good. Now if you don't mind, keep our little chat to yourself, hmm? We don't need to complicate things by bringing the whole group into this, now do we?"   
  
"I...guess not. But how about we make a deal... give me something valuable of yours, and I'll hold onto it until I see through all of this and you don't turn your back on me or my friends, then you get it back."  
  
Ansem smiled and folded his arms. "I see you think things through, Erik... not one to rush into something," he reached into his robe and pulled out a small bag made of a shimmering gold velvet. "This is the most precious item I have come across in all my travels. Pheonix down. Its worth is far greater than all the treasures in the world, for it can be used to resurrect someone dear to you that has died an untimely death. If any of your friends should be harmed due to my actions, you may use it."   
  
Erik held out his hands and gently held the small parcel. "How does it work, exactly?"   
  
"That I'm not sure... all I know is that there is only enough in there to bring back one person. I only would pray that you never find yourself in a place where you would have to use it. Keep it safe, Erik, guard it well. Many people would give their lives to be in possession of something like that."   
  
"Then why are you giving it to me?"  
  
"I have no one close to my heart, and there is not enough magic in the world to save those I've lost. In time I have learned to accept my losses and move on. However, I find in you a wisdom to know when to use it... I believe that it will be of great use to you."  
  
Erik reached into his shirt and pulled out a small wooden pendant on a leather string, and carefully untied the string and wrapped it around the end of the bag, securely knotting it and tugging on it to make sure it would hold, then retied the string around his neck and tucked the pouch into his shirt. "I won't loose it."   
  
Ansem nodded and looked to Red. "We should be going, we have already interfered enough here. We'll stay nearby, and will meet you again in the Temple."  
  
Erik nodded and watched as the two parted. "So I guess that's why Red wasn't around half the time... in fact that's most likely the reason why he had me come along with these people... because this isn't just Riku's story.... or Akira's story.... it's my story too." 


	40. Why the Griffon Weeps

Chapter 40: Why the Griffin Weeps  
  
  
  
Erik slowly rose up and looked at his watch. "Well, they'll most likely be having breakfast for another half-hour or so..." he scratched the back of his head and looked around the room. "How nice, they closed the door and most likely put the chair back up too." Just to make sure, he walked across the room and jiggled the nob. "Yup. Now what?"   
  
Left with nothing to do but wait for the seconds to tick by, thoughts began to creep into the back of his mind, the carefully constructed dam that kept all his dangerous emotions and memories pooled in the darkest corner of his soul was leaking, letting things soak in and cause him to become pensive. He walked back over to the wardrobe and stepped back in, drawing his knees up to his chest before shutting the door the best he could. The darkness hid him, all but for the sliver of light that cast a golden line over his face, highlighting one of his dark, shimmering brown eyes. "I should know about the truth of my past, I was there to see the whole thing happen... but I can't just skip down Memory Lane, what if I lost it, like I did back at Kira's house? Was my father worse than what I believe he was?" These thoughts and others filled his mind, and with each one an anxious feeling gnawed at him, making him reach into his shirt and cling to the token that hung from the leather string about his neck. "Maybe that's why I'm having those ...visions. Maybe somehow my mind has locked down what really happened? Erik, shut up! You're just going to go crazy again!"   
  
"How long has it been since it happened?" a soft, calm voice asked him, almost like the voice of a guardian angel come to counsel him.   
  
"So long... at least eleven years, I don't know anymore."  
  
"The only way to discover truth is to find it in yourself."  
  
Erik closed his eyes and felt a pair of arms gently wrap over his, two slender hands with long fingers lay on his chest. There was a feminine softness to the embrace, and warmth slowly poured into his body. He closed his eyes and brought a hand up and placed it over hers, and sighed as he relaxed. "So I must remember what I can, and try to put it together."  
  
"Let me help you." His angelic visitor replied, bringing her lips close to his ear and softly whispering her words.   
  
Erik let his mind slip back in time, seeking out that one moment, the one that caused his life to pivot. At first there was only sound, then smell, and soon he could feel the breeze softly blowing on his face, accompanied by the soft kiss of the sun's lingering mid fall warmth.   
  
Erik calmly looked around, somehow not surprised to find himself standing on a sidewalk path that lead up to a somewhat shabby house with fading yellow paint and a couple crooked shutters. The lawn was unruly, not having had anyone properly trim it in some time, despite the fact that a rusted push-mower leaned against the rickety wooden fence, tangled up in a vine. A baby tree graced the lawn, but bore no leaves and little hope. In one of the less dust-covered windows he could see the reflection of Kira's house right across the street. He walked up the concrete steps and opened the door, which swung open with a creak. Inside the smell of cigarettes and stale alcohol was faint. The living room, like most of the house, had a worn-down yellowish carpet that was stained in a few places. There were empty beer bottles in a couple corners, complementing the darkish atmosphere and outdated furniture. This room was where most of his abuse occurred, and was also the site of his father's death. He walked along the carpet, and found his bedroom, in the same condition he'd left it in. A few simple toys laying out on the floor, the rest of his simple possessions safely kept in a wooden bin. His bed was small and took up the far right end of the room, and hidden under the oversized blue blanket was the rickety frame. As he looked it over, he couldn't understand why the thing hadn't simply fallen apart as soon as he had laid down on it. He turned and looked back over his shoulder to see a mirror hanging on the wall. His reflection showed him still at the age of 16, but resembling his youth- he was wearing an old grey t-shirt that had holes in one or two places, and a pair of faded and stained jeans that had a knee torn out, revealing a patch of dirt-caked skin. His hair had been cut not too long ago, most likely the kindness of Kira's mother. He was skinnier too, much skinnier, and had little muscle due to a lack of a good diet. He ran his fingers through his hair and wondered if this was what he would have looked like if he had remained in his father's care all this time. But there was a change in him, not just physically, but in his eyes. He looked closer in the mirror and could see fear hidden in his eyes' brown depths, and they were bloodshot, and he could feel wetness on his cheeks. Words echoed in his mind, words that hadn't been said too long ago. His father's words. Amidst the endless swearing and vulgarity, the message was the same as it had always been. "You'll never be anything, you'll never go anywhere with your life. You'll live and die in this very house, alone and cold. You think you have a chance to make something of yourself? Why not just give up now before you hurt yourself."   
  
They cut deep into him, but gratefully were the extent of his father's abuse. Even so, hearing those words repeated to him every single time he gathered enough courage to leave his bedroom was too much to take, and he sank onto the bed and lay his head on the single, ancient pillow and shut his eyes, holding in the tears. As long as his father was still in the house, a single show of weakness would result in endless suffering, like chores that were beyond his ability to do. So he lay there and waited, listening closely for the sound of the door opening and closing again. Then he would be alone for the rest of the day while his father did... whatever it was he did that gave him enough money to wander into the small local bar and drink himself into his usual torpor.   
  
The memory skipped a few times, the color changing to shades of blue and black, then back to normal, like a broken video. The view outside his window changed, the world had darkened as night had swallowed the small town like some great beast. He could hear the sound of the tv droning on in the living room, the thin walls doing little to block out either noise or cold. He wrapped the blanket tightly around himself and took a deep breath before standing. He slowly walked towards the door with a hand held out to take the knob, and the shadows in the room thickened and seemed to poison the house, silently but quickly following his steps, like demons waiting and watching to see what would happen. When he turned the knob and slowly cracked it open, in the very corner of his eye something fluttered past him, but when he turned his head it was already gone. He shuddered and willed himself on down the hall, and he froze in place when he heard the sound of a glass shattering. "....dad?" he softly asked, afraid of what he would see.   
  
When there was no response, his heart pounded in his chest. "Dad?" He asked again, but louder, and stepped into the living room. The first thing he saw was the pieces of the bottle that had been accidently dropped, the contents were beginning to soak the carpet. He looked up to see his father laying on his back on the couch, hand clutched over his chest, glazed eyes staring straight past him. "Dad...." he slowly approached and reached out with a trembling hand to touch him.   
  
His father didn't respond, but continued to stare past him, as if he had been trapped within a spell, doomed to stare into the eyes of his fate for eternity. Erik stayed in place, his eyes fixed on the empty shell of his father. "Dad, please wake up." He softly whispered, dropping to his knees next to the couch, and placed his hand inside the still-warm palm of his father, which had been gripping a bottle but minutes ago. Or perhaps it had been hours, time was skewed here. "You were right, dad. I really can't do anything on my own, I can't even take care of myself. But you left me, and since then I've had to learn. Ever since I was just a kid, all I wanted to do was prove myself to you, to show you that I really was worth something, that I was worth your time. I wanted to stand in a spotlight, and see you looking up at me with pride. That's all I ever wanted, and you died before I ever had a chance to do anything!" he slammed his fist onto the floor, and tears of bitterness trickled down his cheeks. He stopped for a moment, and used the back of his hand to wipe them away. "I can't remember even how, but I made it. I got to Balamb Garden, the best of all of them, and I passed the entry test after months of training. I lived there for several years... and I'm a cadet now. If I keep studying and trying my hardest, one day I'll be an A class SeeD... just like you were once... But you were right. I didn't make it on my own. I had friends that helped me the entire way. But just their approval isn't enough.. I need to know that you're proud of me. I need to hear you say it!"   
  
Erik felt the loneliness he had harbored all those years, and it began to build up in him, turning to bitterness, anger and vengefulness. He felt ready to scream, to let it all come bursting out of him. He tightly curled his hand into a fist, and brought it up into the air, ready to let it come crashing down. Smoke wafted into the livingroom, and swirled around in the room, seeking a way out, and it slowly filled the room, making the vehement boy's eyes water. "The fire!" he suddenly exclaimed, and quickly rose to his feet and turned to face the kitchen. The smoke was rapidly taking over the house, making it impossible to tell where he was. Bright orange flames spilled out of the kitchen, leaping to the ceiling and started consuming the room, caging him in. "I know I got out, but how?" he said in a shaky voice, and he tried to force himself to stay calm and rational.   
  
The smoke choked his lungs, and he gasped for breath. Just a few feet away from him, he could make out a shadowed figure amidst the flames. "Help." he wheezed, and reached out to grab anything that would support him as he tried to follow it. His hand gripped something, and he tightly clenched to it as he dropped to his knees, becoming dizzy. At last his legs gave out and he collapsed onto the floor, and he was certain that he wouldn't make it. He willed his arm to reach out, and his vision slipped away from him. At last he submitted, and the darkness swallowed him.   
  
He could hear crickets now, and he was aware of cool, wet grass touching his skin and soaking his shirt. Everything here was peaceful, and he knew that he was safe. How had he gotten out though? Had he somehow crawled out? He struggled to move, but found his body unresponsive, making him panic. He heard something rustling in the grass nearby, but he didn't sense danger, as it brought a soothing presence. It knelt down next to him, and place a hand on his cheek, making him relax and let go of his worries and stress. A slender hand was placed on his chest, and the touch brought a cooling breeze that eased the pain of his burns and cleared his lungs. "You're safe now... you'll be taken care of. You're not alone, Erik." a voice softly whispered in his ear.   
  
His care-giver bent over him, coming close to his face. There was a sense of adoration and deep love, and it resonated strongly in his chest, making his heart pound painfully. A cool sweet breath washed over his lips, and for a moment he was complete as a pair of soft, warm lips pressed against his, and his strength returned to him. He forced his eyes to open, and he found himself looking up at a pair of closed eyes, the colorless, albino-white skin strikingly set off by the dark eyebrows and long dark lashes. Instantly he wanted to know who this mysterious admirer was, and as he reached up to place a hand on her cheek, the vision burst into a hundred tiny silver lights that rained down around him. His heart shattered likewise as he sat up in the tall, moonlight grass and looked around, trying to spot her. He placed a hand on his chest where hers had been, and let his head drop forwards. "But I am alone." He whispered, feeling hopeless once more.   
  
The fingers of his other hand twitched, and closed tightly around something. Looking down, he saw what he had held onto in his fall in the house. A photograph in a simple black frame. He raised it closer to his face and angled it so the moonlight illuminated it. "It's them... the woman and child in my visions..." the faces of the happy woman holding her young daughter became clearer, and it all began to unlock in his mind, when all was thrown into darkness once more, and he jerked awake in the wardrobe in Akira's room, brought rudely out of his dream by the sound of Akira screaming as she hastily slammed the door shut in his face again and began swearing at him. 


	41. Angels in the Farplane

Chapter 41: Angels in the Farplane  
  
"Erik, you pervert!" Akira shouted as she quickly threw a shirt on, then turned and opened the door again. "How long have you been in there?"   
  
He looked at her with a dazed, confused look. "I...don't know. I think I fell asleep in here." He groaned as he got out and his joints popped. "Musta been a while."   
  
"What were you doing in the wardrobe anyways, Peeking Tom?"   
  
"What kind of last name is 'Tom'?" he dumbly asked, rubbing the back of his neck as she folded her arms and gave him an accusing stare.   
  
"Oh please, I put the chair away and came in about fifteen minutes ago, and when I didn't see you I figure you had either chewed a hole in the wall and escaped, or you had vaulted out the window."  
  
"Nope, I've pretty much just been enjoying sitting in a two-by-four space. Gotta get myself ready for big time in the asylum, figuring that's about as close to real life as I'll ever get."   
  
She rolled her eyes at his frivolous attitude and pushed him towards the door. "Well go and get yourself cleaned up, Tristen has arranged for a guide to take us to the Ancient Temple and teach us whatever the heck it is that's supposed to make everyone understand why we're hundreds of miles from home."  
  
"Oh, okay then." He stopped leaning backwards and simply stepped towards the door, making her trip and fall to the ground. "I'll see you in a bit then."   
  
Groaning, she raised her head up from the carpet and looked up at him through her hair as he smiled and closed the door. "Hyne I hate him, I really do. Just too bad he has such a cute smile."   
  
That being said, she sighed and let her face rest in the carpet once more.   
  
About an hour later, a tall, dignified-looking Guado adorned with official-looking, brightly colored robes stepped down the hallway, and looked around expecting to see the guests he had been assigned to ready and waiting for him. Instead he was greeted by an empty hallway and a young, blonde-haired boy sitting sideways in a chair while reading a book, his legs draped over the arm. "Excuse me sir, but do you know anything about the guests I was to be taking to the temple today?"   
  
"Oh yeah, they're still getting ready."   
  
"But they were to be ready by eleven, and it's already ten minutes past."   
  
"They run on teenage time, they're never ready until fifteen minutes after they say they will."   
  
"What an awful habit to fall into, being late."   
  
"Hey, at least I'm here." he responded, tossing the book over his shoulder onto a table.  
  
As if on cue, all the doors opened at once and the teenagers came flooding out into the hallway, loudly talking to each other. "Excuse me?" the Guado almost timidly said, trying to get their attention.   
  
"Yo, shut up!" Kairi shouted, and quickly the din settled down.   
  
"Thank you. I'm Tremere, Tristen has appointed for me to see you to the Ancient Temple."  
  
"...and?"   
  
"Oh. I suppose I'll take you now." With that the Guado turned on his heel and walked down the hall and turned to lead them down a tunnel-like passageway that had been carved out of the ancient tree, opening outside in a lush, almost tropical forest. Riku blinked as his eyes adjusted to the bright light, and took a deep breath of the sweet, warm air, for once feeling relaxed and safe.   
  
The Guado elder led them down the well-trodden dirt path that snaked its way through the exotic jungle flora, holding himself with a regal air, as if he were a high-standing servant leading guests through his master's hall. "A thousand years ago the Cetra, a great people known now as the Ancients, wandered the planet in search of a place called the Promised Land. Led by the voice of Hyne, the Creator of the Planet, they migrated through the wilderness, their only assurance the promise of their leader, who claimed he was chosen personally by Hyne. After they had traveled for years and three generations came and went, some of the Cetra began to speak among themselves, convinced that the Promised Land did not in fact exist. They stirred up controversy, and the leader of the rebels attempted to overthrow their guide. A great dispute broke out, and in the end the rebels were forced out of the group. The rogues settled down in the land, and gave themselves a new name, which sadly has been lost over the centuries. From all our research, we have concluded that all the humans spread throughout the Planet, such as yourselves, are the descendants of those who settled down in the land, and after many generations of hardship, flourished and spread.   
  
"As for the Ancients, after several more years they themselves split into many groups and slowly diminished. One of those groups, however, a tightly-knit clan of Cetra whose faith in Hyne was strongly founded, made it to this canyon, and prospered greatly. We the Guado believe that we ourselves are the direct descendants of those Ancients, and for hundreds of years we have never left this canyon, nor neglected the great temple that the Ancients built to honor Hyne for safely guiding them here."   
  
"So... you're saying that not only are humans and Guado descendants of the exact same group of people, but humans are like some sort of spiritually lost tribe, while the Guado are blessed by their Utopian ideals?" Erik skeptically inquired, folding his arms.   
  
Akira shot him a warning look and shook her head, wishing that he wouldn't place his own beliefs ahead of respecting the beliefs of others. He was going to get himself, or the entire group, in a great deal of hot water for his never-ending crusade to expel all truth.   
  
"Spiritually as you are, yes you are children lost from their father's love. But every lost child can redeem themselves by returning to his name. We do not wish to force anyone into accepting our faith, we only wish for every one to live in a state of emotional, mental and physical equilibrium and fulfillment."   
  
"Sounds too good to be true. So believers in Hyne just have to accept that he's their creator, and then everything is peachy-keen?"   
  
"Quite so. Hyne's requirements are very little, all one must do is obey his commandments, and see to it that all his lost children are once again reunited in his home."   
  
"Commandments? So there's a list of Do's and Don't's."   
  
"There is one commandment that sums up everything his followers live for: Love thy neighbor."   
  
Erik opened his mouth to speak again, but the other members of the group by now had grown tired of him, and all shot him dangerous looks, making him silent.   
  
Akira looked up at Riku who had been absorbing everything the Guado had imparted to them, and now was in a pensive state. "You believe everything he's saying?" she softly whispered to him.   
  
He raised his head and looked up into the golden sunlight filtering through the full, twisting and smoothly textured branches overhead, unable to reject the feeling of paradise. "Well, so far we've been told that there's dead people walking around, and that I'm a savior from some ancient legend. As long as I have these scars on my hands, I really don't think I'm in much of a position to be debating faith. What about you? You seemed pretty interested in what he had to say."   
  
Akira shrugged as she thought about it. "I dunno... the Guado seem to have done pretty well for themselves, so their faith doesn't seem to cause them too much trouble. But really faith isn't something I want to get into too much right now, thinking about it gives me a headache anyhow."   
  
The path leisurely wound through the Eden-like garden, taking its time as it lead them to the age-worn stone steps of the Temple itself, which resembled many of the great Myan pyramids. There were two pillars on either side of the steps, engravings partially hidden by thick vines that had slowly crept up from the ground and wound themselves around the blueish, eroded rock, trying to conceal and forever hide the secrets of this revered place. "Behold, the Ancient Temple." The Guado said with a voice that demanded awe and respect. "This temple has stood here for centuries, tended to by my ancestors."  
  
"You seem to have done a remarkable job maintaining this place, it looks like it hasn't been here even that long."   
  
"It didn't look this way seventeen years ago. We always knew that the fight against nature and erosion would be a battle slowly lost. This place was merely a pile of worn down rocks and scattered relics. We were deeply grieved to know that the place we loved so much was slipping away from us. But that is the way of life, things are lost, but so much more is given to us. It greatly surprised and at the same time disturbs us that the temple appears to have rebuilt itself, especially when our long-departed Maester Seymore was seen ascending these steps."  
  
"Well wouldn't you be overjoyed to know that the things you lost are being given back to you? You would see it as like... a blessing from Hyne or something." Irvine questioned, and it surprised the others that for once it wasn't Erik making comments.   
  
"In some cases Hyne will give back what was once lost, in order to win the faith and love of his children. But those who are familiar with his words know that as mortals we must live to accept the affects of time, the coming and going of things. We know that there is no use or point in crying for what has passed to be brought back, when what is coming will be so much greater."   
  
"Oh, I see what he's saying." Jerdania said, somehow able to translate his rather odd speech. "It's better to wait for a newer, better computer than constantly crying about the one that just crashed."   
  
They followed their guide up the steps, and quietly passed through an doorless entry into the dark, torch-lit and cobwebbed passageway. In the dark, almost gloomy hall, one of the teens took advantage of the mood and began softly humming the Indiana Jones theme, making Kairi sigh and roll her eyes while Erik smirked and Akira desperately tried to stifle her laughter. Tremere raised his eyebrows in confusion and turned to look at the group, who quickly straightened up and starting behaving, like a busload of young children who instantly submit when the bus driver slams the breaks and turns to threaten them all with office referrals. "If you will continue to follow me, I will lead you to the place where the entire history of the Planet has been written. Listen closely, and the wisdom of the Ancients will tell you of why you are here."   
  
Erik let his mind block out the long-winded Guado's voice, and instead let himself focus on trying to find Ansem, and the ever elusive Red. As they followed the narrow, dank hallway, his skin began to crawl and he shivered as the sensation of being watched started unnerving him. He stopped for a brief moment and glanced over his shoulder, catching a flash of movement. Nervously he spun around and let his eyes search the shadows as he slowly walked along, but nothing appeared to be out of the ordinary. Clearing his throat, he turned back around and stepped directly into someone. "Do I unnerve you?" Ansem's deep voice asked, and Erik relaxed somewhat.   
  
"No, I just don't like people creeping around in the shadows, following me."  
  
Ansem chuckled and gave a smile. "Riku will be coming to see where you got to here in just a minute. Quickly, follow me." He turned and briskly walked down the hallway and where there appeared to be a solid wall, he went straight through it.   
  
Erik stopped in his place and his mouth opened in surprise. When the young teen didn't follow, Ansem walked back and sighed. "Come here!" he gripped the boy's wrist and pulled him through. "It's just an illusion, there isn't a wall there, it's the product of hidden mirrors. Now, see this hallway, and the mirrors hanging on the walls?" he queried, referring to the round, flat silver disks that were spaced at intervals on the stone walls, torches on either side of each. "Follow the mirrors, and they will lead you to the doorway to the Farplane. Since the Guado are so trusting, they don't bother to put guards in charge of the portal, so going in will be quite easy. When you pass through, you'll be on a platform surrounded by orange clouds. You'll have to take a step of faith and walk off, and you'll be in Via Infini, the Farplane Valley. There is a tower in the very center, head towards it, and whatever you do stay away from any water."  
  
"What, is the water there dangerous?"   
  
"To the mortal body, yes. If your skin comes in contact with the water, your soul will instantly depart from your body."   
  
"So in other words, I'll die?"   
  
"Exactly, now go!" Ansem spoke with a rushed voice, and hurriedly shoved him back out into the main passageway, just as Riku came around the corner.  
  
"Erik, what are you doing here, trying to defile any sacred relics you find?" he asked, letting his hand run along the wall as he approached.   
  
"Uh... no, actually I was just checking this wall out... it looks weird, like it's not real."   
  
"Lemme see.... yeah, you're right. That's creepy..." curious, he walked forward and tried to place a hand on the illusion, and his hand went straight through. "What the heck?"   
  
"It's an illusion! I bet we can go right through, come on." Erik took hold of Riku's wrist and began to pull him forward.   
  
"Erik, I don't think we're supposed to–"  
  
Erik rolled his eyes and tugged Riku through. "Where's your sense of adventure?"   
  
"Well, I'm already hundreds of miles from home and had to fight monsters, learn some stupid legend, escape a group of bandits, survive a run-in with an economy-sized cactuar, discovered a village of natives living in Cosmo Canyon, um..."   
  
"Oh alright, I get it... but come on, that Teremere guy was boring me to death, I want to see what's down here."   
  
"Did it ever occur to you that this place might be booby-trapped?"   
  
"Hey, I've got a whip, I'll just Indiana-Jones us out of here by swinging across chasms and outrunning giant boulders." He responded, pointing a thumb at himself as he continued following the mirrors.   
  
"First of all, you didn't even bring your whip with you. Secondly, you don't have a bachelor's degree in archaeology or ancient history, and lastly, you seem to already know where you're going."   
  
"So what? Come on, I'm sure it's close by."  
  
"What are you talking about?" Riku demanded, stopping and putting a hand on Erik's shoulder.   
  
"Never mind, please Riku, this is important, okay?"   
  
"Erik, you're seriously starting to scare me, now what's going on?"   
  
"Look, I know what I'm doing, alright? I just have to have you come along."   
  
"This isn't right, we shouldn't be here!"   
  
By now Erik was getting fed up and simply grabbed Riku's arm and began pulling him along as he broke into a run, the mirrors leading them down a twisting, seemingly endless path. When it seemed it would never stop, they turned a sharp corner and walked directly into a large round room, the walls of which were made with brightly glowing mirrors, each one intricately and elegantly framed with silver. In the center of the room was what could be described as a tear in the dimension, a swirling portal that hung a few inches above a raised platform. Erik slowly stepped up onto the platform and approached the black, empty hole, and when he was directly in front of it an image appeared on the other side, of a strange, small expanse of yellow earth, but whatever view there might be was hidden by the orange clouds that moved around the visible ground in slow, calm cycles. "What on earth...." Riku whispered in awe, looking over Erik's shoulder. "What is that place?"   
  
"It's the Farplane."   
  
"Farplane? Isn't that supposed to be like some sort of heaven?"   
  
"I guess, we're looking right at it. Come on, let's go in."  
  
"Are you nuts?!" Riku exclaimed, grabbing Erik's shoulders to hold him back as he attempted to step inside. "You don't even know how we're supposed to get back out!"   
  
"Well, we can work on that once we're done visiting."  
  
"What if we can't get back out at all?"  
  
"From what I've heard, the Farplane is a place you don't exactly ever want to leave. Woah, check that out... pyreflies." And as if that alone was reason enough to go in, he lifted his foot and put it through the portal, and simply stepped through as if going through a door. Once he was on the other side, he turned around to see that the portal still hung there, the mirror-room still on the other side. "Come on Riku, I survived."   
  
Riku groaned and shook his head before giving up and stepping inside. He looked over his shoulder, and sure enough the portal still hung in place, apparently not intending to vanish. "Okay, we're here, can we leave now?"  
  
"Hey Riku, what do you think is on the other side of those clouds?" Erik asked, walking towards the swirling orange barrier.   
  
"Do I even want to find out?"   
  
Erik stepped into the moving wall, and his shirt began to soak the moisture in. As far as he could tell there was still solid ground underneath his feet, as he could see about a foot in front of him. "It seems to be safe, just go real slow." He called back, and could hear Riku muttering something in his island language as he followed.   
  
Once Riku was standing by him, Erik slowly continued forward, and suddenly all view of the ground was lost and the clouds were thicker than ever. "This ain't good, let's go back." Riku nervously said, pulling on his friend's arm.   
  
"No way, I got this far. How much you wanna bet this is just a short drop-off?"   
  
"Well, if it turns out to be a cliff, we can only do it once."   
  
"You're such a chicken-wuss." Erik teased, and boldly stepped forward.   
  
When Erik dropped out of view, Riku panicked and quickly stepped forward to see what had become of him. Much to his surprise, there was nothing to stand on and he found himself quickly dropping downwards, the clouds rushing up around him. The fall seemed to continue on forever, and before he had time to react or even think, a field of flowers was racing up to meet him.   
  
Erik heard Riku's brief yelp of terror, and turned around just in time to watch the silver-haired boy gracefully land in a face-plant, crushing the flowers he landed on. For a moment there wasn't any sign of movement, but much to his relief Riku groaned as he pushed himself up on his arms and looked around. "Man, how far was that fall anyways?" He asked, standing up and dusting himself off.   
  
Erik folded his arms and looked at the rock wall behind Riku, then let his eyes follow it up to the top of the platform. "I'd say about five feet."  
  
Riku turned in confusion and quickly surveyed the same short platform, and an anime-style sweat drop appeared beside his head when he spotted the stairs leading down, which evidently Erik had used. "That ain't cool." He muttered, and turned to see that Erik was already walking off again. "Hey, wait up!"   
  
Erik laughed and slowed down so his friend could catch up, and they both stopped and turned to look when they heard the sound of someone yelping, followed by the sound of something the ground accompanied by an "oof!" upon impact. Akira pushed herself up and pushed the hair out of her face. "Wait up you two, I am so going to kill both of you!" she angrily shouted, leaping to her feet and running through the calf-high flowers towards them. To Riku she was, for that brief moment, a beautiful vision. To Erik she was a rampaging rhinoceros about to trample them both.   
  
"Thank Hyne another sane person came for me!" Riku cried out, holding out his arms to capture her, but instead he found himself in a strangle-hold. "I'm innocent, I was trying to stop him!"   
  
Erik groaned at the unfairly cruel hand fate had dealt him, and put a hand to his forehead. "Why does this always have to happen, just when things are finally going right?"   
  
"You're not supposed to be here, Erik!" Akira barked, leaping at him like a Rottweiler. "Why did you leave the group, and what are you doing on the Farplane?! Don't you think you've bashed reverence enough for one lifetime?"   
  
"Akira, I'm here for a reason!"  
  
"Well you think you could have asked the Guado about it instead of sneaking around and trying to do things for yourself?"  
  
"Hey, if I have something I want to get done, I'm not going to let a bunch of rules or people's feelings get in the way."   
  
"So for you the shortest distance between two points is to drive on the sidewalk and knock pedestrians out of your way."   
  
"What on earth... don't start using metaphors, Akira, they give me headaches because they require me to think!"   
  
Riku stayed a good distance away from the bickering teens, not wanting to come between Akira and her fury. Once when they were still children, he had been examining her glass animal figurine collection which she zealously displayed on shelves in her room. He had been curious about a particular figurine of a glass wolf, perfectly capturing the motion of a wolf in a full-tilt run. One day he had decided to borrow it without asking her first so he could attempt to make a sketch of it, and by mistake, even as gentle and overly protective he tried to be with it, he had managed to knock it over while it was resting on the table, and one of the wolf's ears had been chipped off. Too afraid to admit it, he had quickly replaced it among the other animals, hoping she would notice. Later she had tackled him in the living room and all but murdered him. Since then he had learned to stay out of the way of her anger, lest he become a casualty.   
  
While Akira and Erik continued their full-volume screaming match, they had continued walking towards the center point of the Farplane, the centerpiece of which was a tall, simply constructed tower, with a single room perched at the very top. "Wait a minute..." Riku suddenly said, making the other two be silent for a moment. "I've seen this place before... in a dream. I think we really should be here."  
  
"Oh, now he listens to me." Erik quipped, folding his arms and shooting bullets with his eyes at Akira. "Now can we please just get to that tower? I have business here."   
  
"So you're going to ask the Oracle a question then?"   
  
"Yup."  
  
"What about?"  
  
"Nothing I want to share."  
  
"Ookay then..." Riku backed away and let Erik lead them, and he found himself wondering since when his authority could be so easily overturned, let alone by a single person. There was something about Erik that demanded submission, however, and after the incident in the woods during their chocobo-back journey to Winhill, in which he had used nothing but his own brute strength to snap the neck of a full-grown hyena, he did not feel that he was in a safe place to be trifling with him. Besides, Erik was close to obtaining what he wanted, and at this point surely there was nothing that could be said or done to stop him.   
  
"I just hope that the Oracle doesn't kick us out because Akira decided to tag along." Erik darkly said, and he could feel the anger in her rising as she followed him. He himself had a very short temper and could easily knock people bigger than him onto their backs, but Akira had a passionate fury in her that wasn't easily quenched either.  
  
Despite the ugliness of the situation, the Farplane's beauty was not dimmed in the least. The sky overhead was a strange aqua-green color, completely cloudless. The valley was expansive, and in Erik's mind it had to be the size of five blitzball stadiums crammed together. The geography was endlessly interesting, such as strange mushroom-like formations that spilled over with water, floating rocks, and the entire valley itself was surrounded by cliffs with rushing waterfalls, and it wasn't clear where all the water ran to. It was almost like a seven-year-old girl's dream world, flowers and bright colors everywhere they looked, plus the huge numbers of pyreflies, small balls of light that trailed rainbow auroras, that aimlessly drifted around them, and there were even a few that began following them. "I can't believe how beautiful it is." Akira said in a soft voice full of awe.   
  
"Yeah, but the rocks sorta look like someone went crazy with a tie-dye kit." Riku commented as they passed another yellow, orange and pink splotched boulder.   
  
"What is with all the water though? Do you figure it's what's keeping all these flowers and plants alive?" Akira questioned as she reached out to let a stream of water pouring over some rocks run over her hand, and she gasped and tried to fight when Erik grabbed her and sharply jerked her away. "What is your problem?!"  
  
"Don't touch the water, unless you want to die on the spot."  
  
"How is a bunch of water going to kill me?"   
  
"I don't know, but for whatever reason mortal things can't touch it, or else basically they die on the spot. I'm guessing it might be the Lifestream."   
  
"The Lifestream? Erik, please don't tell me that you actually know about that, and are willing to admit that theology is true."   
  
"Hey, seeing is believing. Besides, it just makes too much sense. The Lifestream, the very life force of the Planet, is said to be rivers of water that run through the Planet like veins of blood, keeping all the living things alive. It's a stream of pure energy that just appears in the form of a liquid. Naturally living tissue wouldn't be able to handle something like that, and if indeed the Lifestream was contained in living beings, the flesh would die but the energy would join the stream."  
  
"Did you just make that up on the spot?"   
  
"For some reason I seem to have a streak of genius right now."   
  
By now they were only several yards from the ten-story high stone tower, and they were surprised to see that a Guado, even more regally adorned than Tremere, was standing beside the curved, doorless entrance. "Have you come to see the Oracle?" the ancient-looking Guado asked with a soft voice.   
  
"Yeah, actually."  
  
"My, is time for that already? She only answers so many questions a year, and we had someone come to request her knowledge only a few months ago. Well never mind my senseless talk, please follow me."   
  
The three found themselves being led up a long, spiraling staircase which seemed to have been carved out of the tower itself. The hall was cold and dank, and the smell of wet dirt overwhelmed them. "Ugh, this is awful, it's like that concrete basement I had back in my house." Erik commented, putting a hand up to his nose to block the smell.   
  
"House? I thought you lived in Balamb Garden." Akira said, looking at him out of the corners of her eyes.   
  
"I lived in Winhill as a kid."   
  
"What? How come you never said anything when we were there?"   
  
"I never said I wanted to go back."   
  
Akira was silent at that, wondering what could have happened to him to make him wish to never return to where he grew up. Obviously, it had to be related to his childhood, that much was certain. Was he abused? Did he witness something?   
  
The stairs seemed to continue on forever, the only indicator of how high they had climbed was the view from the tiny slits in the outside wall that served as windows. For a moment Riku stopped to look out, and was taken back by just how high they had climbed. "Wow, we've got to be like, fifty feet above the ground now."  
  
Erik pressed his face against Riku's to look out of the same small hole, and looked out over the endless field of flowers, rivers, waterfalls and curious landscaping. "I can see my house from here." He jokingly said, staring up at the clear patch of sky, surrounded by a swirling vortex of orange clouds.   
  
Akira rolled her eyes and rubbed her arms, trying to keep warm. "I don't see how anyone could live comfortably in a house made of stone, it's freezing in here."   
  
"Actually, it's quite comfortable for me. Your problem is being raised on an island with a constant temperature of sweltering-degrees-Fahrenheit." Erik calmly said, stepping away from the window as their Guado guide patiently waited.   
  
"The Oracle lives very modestly here, she is well taken care of. For as long as she has been here within this tower, there have been others like me, caretakers, who tend to her every need. I assure you that once we get up to her living chambers, you will find yourselves much more comfortable." the Guado informed them, his voice not sounding tired in the least from the seemingly unending climb.   
  
After what seemed to be an eternity, the stairs at last ended in a landing that took up half the width of the tower. At the opposite side of where they stood there was a simple metal ladder that led up to a trapdoor in the ceiling. "So... that leads to her room I'd assume?" Riku asked.   
  
"Indeed. I will go up first to inform her of your arrival." The Guado gave a brief sigh as he walked over to the relatively short ladder. "Never before have I heard of three people asking to be in her presence at once. The laws placed on visits to the Oracle specifically say two."   
  
At this Erik rolled his eyes and muttered something as he glanced over at Akira. "It wasn't exactly how we planned on it happening, it just turned into a mess when she wanted to come along." He said as he folded his arms and jerked his thumb at her.   
  
"Well excuse me, but I wasn't exactly aware that you and Riku were going to run off the pre-planned tour and wander off on your own." she quickly retorted.   
  
As the two faced off and sparks flew between them, the Guado gave a stressed-sounding groan and turned to face them. "Please, please do not argue here, I simply can not allow it. You'll anger her."   
  
Erik and Akira sighed and folded their arms while eyeing each other. "Fine." They angrily answered.   
  
Riku sighed and sat down on the ground while watching the Guado climb up and open the trapdoor, and for a moment his heart pounded. He wasn't even sure of what he was supposed to ask her, he just knew that for some reason Erik had dragged him in here. "Why are we here, exactly?" he asked, turning to look at his silently fuming companions.   
  
"I have something I want to ask her... and you can ask her about this stupid quest we're on, like... 'what the freak am I supposed to do now?'. Besides Ans.... I mean, just trust me on this one, I know we're supposed to be here."   
  
"And Tristen and every other Guado responsible for keeping the Ancient Temple knows we're not."   
  
"Akira, shut up!"   
  
"You shut up!"   
  
"Both of you shut up!" Riku snarled, standing up and facing both of them.   
  
The other two quickly fell silent and turned to look at him, both afraid to say another word. As soon as Riku had settled back down, the trapdoor opened and they could hear the Guado's voice beckoning them. "Now I don't want either of you to say a single word, not until I know what's going on. Got it?"   
  
"Yes, sir." both answered him, and they silently followed him up the ladder.   
  
Erik's heart began to pound in his chest as he placed his hands on the floor above the trapdoor and easily pulled himself out. The first thing he noticed was the small fireplace in the corner, a crackling fire keeping the room quite comfortably warm. He pulled himself up from the wooden-paneled floor and stood up, and let his eyes travel around the room. On one side of the room there was a small but elegant bed, decorated with veils and drapes, covered with a great down comforter and feather pillows. There was a beautiful painting of a mountain in the dawn's light hanging over the fireplace, and there were various vases of flowers on the mantle. There was also a table set with two chairs, obviously for eating and what-not, and there was a small couch upholstered with a blue velvet material, sitting directly in front of a large window. There was a figure sitting there, facing backwards, arms folded over the back of the couch as it gazed out the window. It was covered from head to foot with a plain, off-white dress, and a hood was pulled up over its head. "Hello." the figure spoke with a soft, young feminine voice, and turned to look at them.   
  
The Oracle's three visitors furrowed their eyebrows in question and glanced at each other upon seeing that even her face was concealed by what resembled a bridal veil. "I see that instead of pertaining to the rules, three have come before me to ask for my insight." she commented, stepping forward.   
  
"I am most sorry m'lady, but there was no stopping them. The silver-haired boy, Riku is his name, he is of utmost importance."  
  
"Ah yes, Riku, the hero of the legend Nakineiri Itami... the same legend that had me locked up for eternity in this tower. At least, until the hero arrived to conquer sin, so that I might be freed and live a life free of my ability. He is very important, both to me and the rest of the Planet."   
  
Riku shivered at cooly spoken words, and looked down at his feet as she stopped to stand in front of him. Even though he couldn't see her face, he could sense that she was pensive, and her gaze pierced through him, scouring his mind. "I.... I don't understand any of this, I don't know what I'm supposed to do or where my path will lead me."   
  
"Patience, since your answer will take much time to give, you will be last." With that she stepped away from him and approached Akira. "And as for you, what would you wish to ask of me, Akirame?"   
  
Akira raised her head and boldly attempted to meet her questioner's gaze. "I... don't have a question. At least, just not yet."   
  
"I see... you are the kind of soul that does not wish to be told of their future, for they fear what they might learn. You would rather you discover your path as it leads you, to bear one hard-learned lesson at a time. It is the way to live, if one wishes to become wise of their own accord. You have your courage, and you have your love, Akirame."   
  
Akira nodded in response, and then instinctively lowered her head, as if bowing out of respect.   
  
"And you..." the Oracle's voice became soft with awe, yet there was excitement as well. "You came, just as I dreamt."   
  
Erik glanced around and raised an eyebrow. "Um.. That'll happen to ya a lot when you can see the future."   
  
Riku and Akira bit their lips and the Guado cringed, both wondering how Erik could speak like that in front of someone so... seemingly sacred and revered. To their surprise, the Oracle softly laughed. "Yes, just as I imagined you, a youth with no respect for the sacred.. Erik, I have awaited your arrival for so long. I have never looked forward to a single moment as much as I have this one."   
  
"M'lady, what is it that you speak of? This boy is no more than a normal, common person. Surely you would be more interested in Riku?"   
  
"You do not understand, Tremere... I have dreamt about Erik for a long time now. Riku is important to the Planet, but Erik concerns only me." And she reached up and took hold of the corner of her veil, as if to remove it.   
  
"But m'lady, Serena! You musn't remove your veil, you know what will happen if you do!" Tremere objected, stepping forward to stop her.   
  
"Tremere, my most faithful caretaker, I have lived in the confines of laws and this tower for a thousand years. I have had many tend to me before you, and they have all reminded me of what should happen if I were to reveal my face to anyone. If you would, please escort the other two out of the tower and give them something to eat, I have private matters to attend to with Erik here."   
  
Tremere gave another soft, stressed sounding groan and shook his head. "Are you sure?"   
  
"Yes, I am very sure."   
  
With that the Guado gave a sigh and turned to Akira and Riku. "I am sorry, but the Oracle's wishes must be fulfilled. You'll have to come with me."   
  
"But I don't have time for this!" Riku objected, curling his hands into fists.  
  
"Riku, time is all you have here." The Oracle softly told him, looking over at him. Once they had been (rather reluctantly) escorted out, she turned to look at Erik again. "At last, I am finally able to meet you in person. I have dreamt of you, seen your entire life as if I were there to watch it happen. I have never had such visions before, and at last I realize their significance."   
  
Erik gulped and nervously darted his eyes around the room. "What makes me so special?"  
  
"You don't remember your past, what made you what you are now, but I do. I have seen all of it, and I've tried to show you before... but you were too afraid."  
  
At this he bit his lip and took a step back. "I'm not sure if I really want to know anymore."   
  
"You have to eventually Erik, you'll never be free or understand anything if you don't know the truth." And with that she took another step forward to close the distance between him, causing him to nervously dart his eyes around the room in search of an escape.  
  
"That painting..." he muttered, quickly avoiding her and stepping towards the fireplace. "Mountain looks familiar." He added, scrutinizing the oil painting, searching the blue mountain with pink-tinted snow caps and the flat, flower-sprinkled field that stretched out over the landscape. As he slowly began losing himself in the near-perfect details, he could almost feel the cold morning breeze running over his skin as he looked up at the sky of aqua, lemon, tangerine and hot pink, accented by the purple and grey clouds that hung in a halo around the mountain's peak.   
  
The Oracle couldn't help but smile under her veil as she stepped up behind him to look up at the painting over his left shoulder. "It's Mount Gagazet, home to the Ronso, the greatest warriors on the Planet. It's also the highest mountain in the Hiyashi mountain range. This painting is a scene from the field just outside of Winhill."   
  
"Should've figured... what else would the stranger obsessed with you hang on their wall other than paintings of your childhood memories. The thing I can't figure out is why I'm not in there. Your dreams, were you following me or did you just see everything from my point of view?" he coldly shoved back in her face, folding his arms as he turned his head to look at her.   
  
It was a wonder that she did not react violently to his unending display of unwillingness and cruelty, and simply shove him out the open window. Instead she remained calm and patient, and stepped up to touch the painting, letting her fingers rest over the shadow of a tall elm tree. "You're right there, just out of view. You had fled there out of fear, crying and trembling, cursing your father's name. Watching the sunrise, filled with so much grief, burning hatred and maddening fear. Only five years old, and he had nearly beaten you within an inch of your life–"  
  
Something inside Erik snapped, and he spun around so fast and unexpectedly, she had no time to react before his hand was gripping her throat, forcing her head back as he let his fingers dig into her neck. "Stop fucking with my head!" He bitterly screamed at her, and the tension in his arm caused it to quiver. "You can't tell me anything, you don't know what happened to me!"   
  
Her veil had been knocked askew by his sudden lunge, slipping down to reveal a pair of shockingly blue eyes set in flawless, nearly albino skin, her dark, finely arched eyebrows raised in surprise as her eyes further widened in fear. A single tear was forced out of the corner of her eye and made a burning trail down her cheek as she brought a gloved hand up to grip his wrist, her lips trembling as she silently pleaded to him to not end her life. As she stared up into his furious, hate-darkened yet fearful eyes, her vision flashed a different image, and she found herself looking at an almost identical face, but this one was older, unshaven, and framed with lank, chin-length gold waves, and the eyes were bloodshot, making their ice blue color have an unearthly glow. In them she could see nothing but the blank, smothering affect of alcohol. The face's owner continued to take deep, heaving breaths and their reeking, tobacco scented breath choked her.   
  
With the blink of an eye the sudden image fleeted, and already Erik was trembling and his grip was failing as hot tears flooded his eyes. "I'll kill you for making me remember what he did to me." he softly threatened with a thick, faltering voice, and his arm jerked, causing his palm to put pressure on her windpipe as she was pushed backwards.   
  
"Let go, Erik... please don't be like Eugene, don't harm me for trying to help you."   
  
"Help me?" He asked, his voice cracking as it raised in question, and the tears spilled over as he blinked. "How is any of this helping me? All I ever wanted to do was forget everything that ever happened to me as a kid, and live a normal life at Balamb Garden with my friends!"  
  
"But how could you ever be happy, living a delusional life, with every single raised voice and harsh word triggering flashbacks and putting you into a catatonic state for hours?! For Hyne's sake, Erik, you're killing yourself! Let me go now, I don't want to have to hurt you!"   
  
He ignored her plea and instead regained his strength and squeezed her neck tighter, and she gave a sigh and regretfully closed her eyes. Suddenly he yelped and she was thrust backwards and fell to the floor as he jerked his hand back as if it had been burnt. Dizzily he stumbled backwards until his back hit the wall, and slowly he slid down to the floor as he was left weak after she had sapped almost all of his energy. He took in a deep breath, and choked on his tears as he let out a sob and brought his legs up against his chest and buried his face in his knees. He made no attempt to rebuke her as she kneeled down beside him and pulled him close, and put her hand on his cheek, making him lay his head on her chest as she reached up with her other hand and quickly ripped the veil away from her face, and took the hem of her hood in her hand and pulled it back. "I'm so sorry, Erik, you gave me no choice. You have to rest now, try and regain control of yourself."   
  
"Why are you torturing me like this?" He forced out between gasping breaths, and felt her fingers stroke the side of his face. Instead of irritating him like it should, her touch calmed him and helped him regain himself. Finally the intense headache that pounded in his forehead ebbed away, and he could hear her heartbeat over the sound of his own blood rushing through his head.   
  
"Because I want to help you." she softly answered once he had become calm.   
  
"Why would you want to help someone you don't even know?"  
  
"Because I'm deeply in love with him." 


	42. Subeti wo Suteshimono

(A/N: First of all, this chapter consists of a lot of flashbacks, so to keep you from getting confused, the flashbacks will be set off with some lovely 's. Secondly, I'd like to thank Doomboy2000, who helps me sooo much with my writing. Kimi ga dasukida, Kenny! Please read his story, "Black Orchid". All you Erik fans give me a holler so I know I'm not the only one.)  
  
Chapter 42: Subeti wo Suteshimono  
  
Riku and Akira idly sat on the floor next to each other, their backs against the cold stone wall. It had been at least fifteen minutes, and the room upstairs was still silent. For some odd reason it unnerved them both. "So... Tremere... what exactly is the significance of the Oracle taking off her veil anyhow?"   
  
"It's very hard to explain... looking upon the face of the Oracle is the same as looking upon the face of an angel. Immortal, created without a single flaw, made to forever dwell in one place, and watch over those she pities from her celestial perch."   
  
"Okay... I'm sorta getting what you're saying... the Oracle is meant to stay here in the Farplane, locked up in that room, and observe what's going on in the world through... her dreams or visions or whatever?"  
  
"Quite so. The problem is created when the angel falls in love with her charge, the one she is appointed to guard, and comes to realize that she is separated from them by means of living in different realms. The only way she could cross over is shedding her wings and fall, becoming a mortal herself."  
  
"Wait.... I'm confused. From what I can tell, that girl up there is a normal human being like any of us. In what way does she have 'wings'?"  
  
"Her gift to See, it's drawn from the Farplane itself, a gift from Hyne. If she leaves the Farplane, all that she is given from dwelling in the palm of her creator will be lost, never to be regained. She won't be able to come back."   
  
"Oh... I'm starting to get it... now what exactly does this have anything to do with that veil?"  
  
"If your friend sees her face and falls in love with her, he'll never let her go."   
  
Erik heard the Oracle's softly spoken words clearly, but his mind seemed fogged and he merely stayed in his place, listening to her heartbeat. Experimentally he took a free arm and curled it around her waist, and her heartbeat quickened, and her chest rose as she took a deep breath. His own heart responded, pounding heavily, almost painfully, within his own chest. "So... I guess this means there's no keeping any secrets from you." He finally said, finding himself unable to move from his spot, nor could he keep his voice from shaking.   
  
"I know what happened to you, but I do not know how you saw things. I haven't heard your thoughts or felt your emotions. In fact... I myself am numb... I cannot feel, smell or taste, I can only see and hear. It's as if I were a dove, locked away in a small cage. I have to shed my wings to escape this place."   
  
"So you want to leave the Farplane?"   
  
"Yes."  
  
"I don't see why you would want to leave this place. There's nothing but peace and beauty here. The world outside is ugly and hateful, I've seen enough of it to know."   
  
"A prison of gold is still a prison."  
  
"So.... why have you waited all this time to leave then? There's a portal not too far from here that leads right outside."   
  
"It would be like taking a fish out of a pond and putting it on dry land; I need a way to breathe, a lifeline."   
  
"And am I supposed to be that lifeline?"   
  
"Yes."   
  
"Well... seeing as to somehow you're in love with me, I guess that makes sense. You're making your great escape plan devastatingly romantic, aren't you?"  
  
"I am but a girl, after all. I must have romance in order to live."  
  
"So I guess under all those layers of linen you're a normal human being?"   
  
"I have the soul of a human, but.. I don't have the shell of one."   
  
"Are you telling me you don't have a body? You're a ghost, floating around in a sheet?"   
  
"Something like that. I do not have a physical, organic shell of living tissue to encase my spirit."   
  
"So that's what's with all those clothes, it's sorta to.... protect you, or at least keep people from seeing you, right?"   
  
"Exactly."  
  
"Oohhh... everything is starting to make sense now... even that veil makes sense... well I think I've had enough revelations for one day." And he grunted as he pushed himself off the floor, joints popping. "You're not missing out on too much." He commented as he stretched his arms and bent over to pop his back. "How long have you been holding me hostage up here anyhow?" He asked, flopping down in the couch and looking outside.   
  
Whatever was the source of light that kept the Farplane in a state of day had either moved on or waned, as the scene outside had become of night, everything taking on pastel, soft glowing colors, and the sky overhead was filled with impossible numbers of stars, almost as if someone had tried to put every star in the galaxy in that one expanse of sky. The pyreflies continued to drift aimlessly outside, and mingled with the sound of waterfalls and rivers was what almost sounded like voices, but there were no words, just air moving through hollow pipes. "What's making that sound?"   
  
"The pyreflies are. It's strange that someone would call them that at all... they're not really even flies, they're the memories of the departed, given a form by the emotions they contain." She answered as she sat down next to him, wondering how it felt to him to see such a landscape for the first time.   
  
For a moment they both sat in silence, listening to the melody being created by the life force of the planet and the memories of those who had once lived there. At last Erik took a deep breath and turned to look at her, his desire to see what the soul of a person looked like finally overcoming his fear of what he might see. For a moment he couldn't quite perceive what he was seeing, but as he allowed his eyes to focus, he realized that she indeed did not have a physical body. Instead he could see a face made up of what looked like a million tiny drops of water, a faintly glowing mist that had somehow taken the form of a beautiful face. Her hair was like strands of a spider's web that beautifully shone, long silken strands of moonlight that gracefully danced and swirled over her shoulders and back, disappearing halfway down her back. He slowly rose a hand and reached out to touch her face, and was afraid that his fingers would simply slip through her, destroying the delicately woven smile she now wore. She felt herself being tied to him, and turned her face to see his, wanting to know what he felt right now. Her eyes were where the mist gathered the closest, forming a pair of deep blue windows that allowed her to see the world around her. He knew that he could never look away from her or be away from the presence of this pure light, and he began to feel drowsy and warm as her smile grew bigger. Yet in a way her smile seemed sad, as if she knew that she were the last or only one of her kind, and that she too would soon perish, leaving the Farplane empty and cold.   
  
"If I do not leave with you, when Riku does all that is required of him, time will be restored to order.... and all that was lost before will be lost again, and the Ancient Temple will turn to rubble, and with it the only entrance to the Farplane will seal itself, and I would be trapped within, and I would slowly cease to exist. I would rather spend a short time, knowing that I will eventually die with you, than remain alone here."   
  
Staring in those unearthly eyes, Erik found himself drowning in a sea of emotions and thoughts too deep for him to comprehend. He felt his own short lifespan enunciated by this ethereal being that had lasted the ages. Even in a million years, he could probably only begin to skim the surface of this eternal angel. And yet, he felt drawn to her some how.  
  
"What are you staring at?" she asked, and he thought he saw a flash of amusement in her eyes. She was still smiling widely.  
  
"I want to kiss you," he said, not even sure why he did. She just smiled with one eyebrow raised.  
  
"Really?" she asked. Then her smile became a more mischievous smirk. "But aren't you afraid?"  
  
"Of what?"  
  
"Well… you've had such bad luck with kissing lately…" she trailed off.  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"Well… there was that boy…"  
  
"Riku was the victim of a vendetta, some plot for revenge me and Akira both came up with together."  
  
"And that girl…"  
  
"What's wrong with kissing Aki?" he responded, using his favorite nickname for the blue-haired whirlwind who had been trying to kill him not too long ago.  
  
"What's wrong with kissing Akira?"  
  
"You really don't remember, do you?" asked the Oracle, pulling her face back from him a little as she noticed he had moved considerably closer. He merely shook his head. "Well, we'll just have to go back then..."  
  
"And how are we supposed to do that, exactly?"  
  
"Come here, and I'll help you." She offered, leaning against the arm of the couch and crossing her legs while placing a silk pillow in her lap.   
  
Slowly he moved and shifted so that he was laying on his back, head nestled comfortably on the pillow. "Alright, now what?"   
  
"Close your eyes, and I'll guide you through your thoughts. Take a deep breath, and let your thoughts rewind."   
  
Images flashed before his eyes. Riku's stunned look as he opened them from what he thought was kissing Akira. Irvine's eternal whining to be with Jerdania. Life from a frog's point of view. Being handed what was supposedly a P.O.W. from the most recent civil outbreak in Dollet. Lost in the desert. The terror aboard the airship. Being attacked outside Winhill. Watching Akira's radiant smile as she displayed the choker he'd picked out for her. Her running towards him, hands outstretched to grasp his throat.   
  
"You aren't very organized, you know that?" The Oracle teasingly chided as she let her fingers play with one of his curls, the other hand resting on his chest, just below his collarbone.   
  
"Huh?"  
  
"Never mind. Anyways, we need to go back further."  
  
The windows in the hallway poured sunshine into the carpeted hallway, and a bird sung just outside. He followed its trail as it jumped from branch to branch in the blossoming cherry tree, singing as if it didn't have a single care. Unlike him, who was a nervous wreck. All those piles of paperwork he had just filled, hundreds of questions printed in black-and-white, answers scratched in ink. He took a deep breath, let it out and tapped his foot as he ran a hand through his hair. How long had he been waiting outside of Instructor Quistis' office now, fifteen minutes, half an hour? He looked at his watch to see, and as he did so the door opened with a soft click, and the proper, well-groomed, blonde-haired woman stepped out, holding his papers in her hands. She raised an eyebrow, then looked over her silver-rimmed glasses at him. "Well Erik," she said, her even more proper English accent soothing him somehow, "I believe you fit the mental standards of Balamb Garden. Follow me and we'll have the physical exam."   
  
"Y-you're giving the physicals?" he nervously stuttered, following her down the hall.   
  
"You and every other male candidate wishes that." She joked, looking over her shoulder at the once-again nervous 13-year-old boy.   
  
"Further, much further. This isn't what you're blocking out." her voice instructed, and he felt her fingers softly brushing his cheek. "Why did you like her so much, anyhow?"  
  
"I found out later on, listening in on a conversation between Instructor Squall and Irvine, that I hadn't passed the mental exam at all. She went out of her way and changed several of my answers so I would get in. I guess... she felt sorry for me, because I didn't have anywhere else to go. I'd been living in Balamb City, living in one of the boats that some man let me have after I agreed to work for him."  
  
"Ah, yes. Well we need to go much further back than that. Go to your childhood."   
  
It was hard to see what the picture in the wooden, gold-trimmed frame set upon the dresser was, being not much taller than the dresser itself. He raised a small hand and carefully gripped the heavy frame and pulled it down to view. It was a masterfully drawn caricature of a yellow-gold griffin, standing on its hind legs, leaning back as it drew its long, black whip back, free hand held out at its length, talons outstretched as its beak stretched open to screech. It was the same picture tattooed on his father's upper left arm, his "whip" arm, as he called it. Rather messily scrawled in the lower left corner was a signature above a date and the words "The Griffin of Balamb.". Inspiration took form in his young mind, and he knew that one day he would be just like his dad, and have the same tattoo on his own arm.   
  
The hands of a young child are hard to control, the mind not being strong enough to completely control the will of the body. This proved cruelly true as his fingers lost their grasp and the frame fell to the floor, the glass shattering and fanning over the floor. It was also unfair that the young boy was bound by his fear to remain frozen in the spot and await his judgement. The walls slightly shook and he could hear the heavy footsteps of his father approaching the door. He remembered that his mother, no matter how angered she was, had never raised a finger to harm him, and instead only used gentle chiding to guide him away from his mistakes. His frantically racing heart slowed down and he relaxed as the door swung open and his father's strong, handsome face looked in. "What happened, Erik?" the deep voice of authority asked him.   
  
"I didn't mean to, it fell."  
  
His father walked into the room and surveyed the broken glass spread over the carpet. "I thought I told you not to touch anything in here." was harshly growled.   
  
"I-I'm sorry, it was an accident!" For the first time he became afraid of his father, and the big, strong hands that he once admired came flying down like the talons of the griffin, claws burying themselves into his shoulder as the others struck his cheek with a resounding smack that left his skin burning and his heart racing with adrenaline.   
  
The room became completely silent. Never before had the father struck his son, and now he realized in horror what had just happened, as if a dream had revealed itself to be true. He knelt down and pulled the small child into his arms and took a deep breath as he tried to comfort his son. "I'm sorry Erik, I didn't mean it."   
  
Silently the boy, being too young to know how to hold a grudge or count wrongdoings, forgave his father and buried his face in the man's chest. Later, when the father back-handed his son, he would no longer try to seek the child's forgiveness, like a sinner that had given up repenting.   
  
Erik forced his eyes open and turned his head to the side as the pain from being hit burned his cheek. "I forgot that he apologized." He softly said, bringing a hand up to hold his left arm, cupping the spot where he had in fact gotten the tattoo upon entering Balamb Garden, after slipping into an "underground" parlor that one of the resident SeeDs ran from his dorm. "What a waste of time and skin," he thought as Serena, as she had urged him to call her, gently nudged his head back in place. "Can't believe they'd actually give a thirteen-year-old a tattoo... damn it hurt."   
  
"We're not done yet, Erik. You're getting close to where you need to be."   
  
He sat on the floor in the living room, various toys spread out around him. Some plastic dinosaurs, Legos, marbles and a yo-yo, crayons, the normal playthings of a three-year-old. He lazily flopped onto his stomach and picked up a blue crayon, and tried his hardest to stay in the lines as he filled in the left front leg of a horse. "Horses aren't blue." his sister's voice chided him, looking over at what he was coloring.   
  
"Well I want my horse to be blue." he replied, then pouted as the crayon jerked in his unsteady hand and went out of the line.   
  
"It should be brown."  
  
"Well your choboco is green. You know they're only yellow."   
  
"There are too green chobocos, I read it in a book. They're mountain chocobos."   
  
That was his twin, always reading, always being smarter than him. She colored better too.   
  
"Well if there are green chobocos, then there are blue horses."   
  
"Mo-oom, Erik is eating crayons agaiiiin!" She yelled as he chewed on the end of his blue one.   
  
His mother sighed and walked into the room, brushing her long, gracefully curling blue hair over her shoulder as she bent down to pick him up. "Erik, you know better." She softly reprimanded, pulling the half-eaten crayon out of his mouth and putting it on the floor as she sat down on the worn, somewhat ugly couch and pulled him into her lap.   
  
He looked up at her face and felt the warmth of her smile, the comfort of being close to her. Her brown eyes sparkled as she smiled wider and hugged him, and he took a deep breath, the soft scent of vanilla further calming him. "I love you mom." He happily said, wrapping his arms around her neck. "Mom, will you always be there for me?"  
  
She sighed and pulled back to look at her young, innocent son, looking up at him with an earnest face. "I'll try."   
  
"You promise?"   
  
"Yes, Erik. I love you."   
  
As much as he tried to hold onto that memory, it soon slipped away and another scene replaced it.  
  
They had been fighting again. He'd heard his mother's screams from his bedroom, as well as his sister's cries. He ran out to the living room to see his father staggering slightly as he began using words he'd never heard before. His mother was curled up on the floor, leaning against the partition to the kitchen, arm covering her face as if to shield herself. "Mom?" Erik softly asked, walking out into the living room.   
  
"No, Erik! Take your sister and go into your room!"   
  
His sister was crying, sitting on the couch, arms wrapped around a pillow. "Erik, make them stop!" She whimpered as he stepped towards her.   
  
"It's alright, sis, I'll take care of you." He pulled her off of the couch and let her cling to him, and wished that he himself could bury his face and wait for it to all end, but he had to be strong.   
  
"I'm sick and tired of you, Evela! I can't take you and your stupid black-mage bull..." some of the words were hazy, and he could barely understand what his father was talking about. In his anger he seemed to somehow fill the room, and his ice blue eyes shone mercilessly. As he raised a golden-tanned, muscle-bound arm to point accusations, the griffin tattooed on his arm seemed to raise its wings and open its beak to screech in fury, rearing back as it prepared to strike. "You're a freak, setting things on fire and zapping people with bolts of lighting! For Hyne's sake, what if one of the kids turns out to be a freak just like you?! What made you think you could keep it a secret from me all these years, huh?"   
  
"Eugene, please! I love you!" his mother begged, lowering her arm to look up at him, her cheeks streaked with tears, brown eyes wide with fear. "I was afraid to tell you!"   
  
"You monster! I'm taking the boy, at least he's more normal than you and the girl!"   
  
"Don't take my son!" She hysterically screamed, jumping and pulling both of her children into her arms. "Don't take my babies from me!"   
  
"You'll poison them both!" His father shouted back, reaching forward to take hold of his son, frizzled golden-blonde hair sweeping and sharply turning in the air. Erik screamed and tried to fight back as his father's hand tightly gripped his shoulder, talons digging into his flesh as he tried to pull him away.   
  
"Mom! Sis!" He held onto both of them for as long as he could, and soon his strength gave out and he was being pulled away. Everything moved as if in slow motion, and he looked into the eyes of his mother, her arm reaching out to him, trying to hold him. His sister clinged to her mother, shouting his name.   
  
"Erik!"  
  
"Akirame!" he shouted back.  
  
The shock of this revelation shot Erik violently back into the present, like a rock from a slingshot. Things started clicking, and many of these connections didn't lead to very pleasant ends.  
  
"I kissed..." he gagged, holding his throat as if the past action was a bad piece of food he could throw back up.  
  
"Not now, Erik, later. I'm glad you figured that out but there's more pressing things that need to be remembered." the Oracle chided softly as his vision once more left the present, and out of thoughtfulness she pulled a nearby trash bin to the side of the couch near his head. 


	43. Mein Herz Brennt

(A/N: I don't know why but... ever since I picked up on listening to Rammstein, I've found myself obsessed with the idea of Erik speaking German.. That make sense to you? Maybe it's because my dad speaks it so well... anyhow, once again I owe a huge thanks to my boyfriend Kenny, and I have noticed that some of my readers have read his story "Black Orchid". If you haven't, please check him out, he's suuuuch a great guy!"  
  
43: Mein Herz Brennt  
  
Once again his closed his eyes and found his mind catapulting backwards, memories flashing by like lights in a tunnel. Things began slowing down, and he could make out the images in the moving time-line. They were the dark memories from the isolated years he'd lived in the presence of his father, released from the box they'd been confined in for so long. Swirling through the wormhole Serena had opened in his mind, ghosts come to wreck havoc with his emotions. But he had no way to stop them, run from them, cover his eyes or ears to block it all out. He stopped panicking, took a deep breath, and prepared to face the skeletons in his closet.   
  
It was a summer afternoon and the heat would have been unbearable if it weren't for the cool breeze blowing in from the ocean. They both sat in the sand next to the ocean, a small boat flipped upside down in front of them and various tools lay aside atop a towel. Erik was elated to be working on what would soon be his very own boat, and even happier that his father was going to spend this day with him. He squinted as he looked up at his father's face, so much like his own, even at his young age. Eugene (as Erik called him now, having given up using the title of "Dad" since he didn't consider him as one anymore) smiled back, but in a less eager and more exhausted way. "You okay Dad?"   
  
"I'm fine." His father reached beside him and pulled a glass bottle out of a carton which contained five more similar bottles, popped the metal cap and took a sip.   
  
"Hey, is that a root beer?" Erik excitedly asked, getting up on his knees to check.   
  
Eugene smirked at his son's naive question. "Nah, just the regular kind."   
  
"When did you start drinking that stuff?"  
  
His father sighed and pulled a golden strand of hair away from his rough, unshaven face. "When I was sixteen. Married your mom and she made me promise to stop drinking."   
  
"Then why are you drinking now?"   
  
There was a pause as the man sought out the words to explain what was beyond a child's understanding, and he came to realize the child would be better off if he didn't know. "I guess if she doesn't know it won't hurt her, will it?"   
  
Erik understood what his father was saying, gave a quick nod and looked away.   
  
"I wasn't very close to him, even before we left the Destiny Islands, huh?" murmured Erik, his eyes fluttering briefly back open to look into Serena's face. She gently shook her head.  
  
"I think that you wanted to be… but he didn't want you to be," she told him softly. "Now close your eyes. We still have much to see."  
  
Living in a small town like Winhill isn't so bad, everyone seems to have a good idea of what's going on in everyone else's life, people are close-knit and support each other. But for Erik, it was Hell. The very last thing he needed was people knowing what went on in the only run-down house in the area. "Erik... you're already altering the truth... you didn't live in that house." Serena's voice corrected.   
  
"But I remember—"  
  
"You remember what you want to instead of the truth. Think."  
  
Not the yellow house across the street from Kira... a remote cabin-style house outside of town, just outside the forest that bordered the endless field that spanned between the mountains and his ten-year-old heart. He hated the place, and was ashamed of the fact that he was poor and forced to live like this. The clothes he wore alone were enough to keep him from going into town for four years straight. If it weren't for Kira he wouldn't have had any friends.   
  
"Hang on... I don't remember living there that long... the fire..."  
  
"Erik, you lived there until you were twelve."  
  
"I was in Winhill just a couple weeks ago, I saw Kira face-to-face... she didn't even say anything about it!"   
  
Serena paused before answering, thinking of the best way to put it. "Erik she... thinks that... you're insane."   
  
"Insane?!"   
  
"Or at least schizophrenic, most likely because of the fire and your father's death."   
  
"Hey, those were a gift from Hyne; I believed in him back then and I prayed for those things to happen."   
  
"Erik... shut up, we're not getting anywhere."  
  
By now Erik was fully out of his trance, sitting up and turning to look at her, an indignant look on his face. "I just don't see what the importance of my knowing all of thi–"  
  
Her patience having run thin, she grabbed his shoulder and roughly pushed him back into place, and her hands took their spot on his chest again, although a little less lovingly. "Please Erik."   
  
Erik groaned and gave up. "Fine. . . but don't think that once we get out of here you can still tell me what to do!"   
  
"Erik, you'll do exactly as I say, no matter where we are."  
  
"Awwww. . ."  
  
October. The night was cold, and a breeze chilled by the mountains found a way to creep into his bedroom, despite all the newspaper filling in the cracks in the walls. He curled up tighter in his worn-out blanket and shivered. Somehow he'd lived through colder weather last year; he'd have to do it again this time. He reached under his shirt and grasped the wooden paopu charm with his hand, rubbing the smooth surface with his thumb and feeling the groove where the other half would have connected. It brought some warmth to the room shaded in blues and blacks, knowing that wherever his sister was, she had the other half. But as much as he tried, the faint memories of his mother and sister could not abate the cracks in his soul, and the darkness bled into him. He'd put up with the torment for so long now, just sitting here thinking about it filled him with a burning hatred. More memories came to mind, fueling the flame and making it burn brighter, and it began to show in his eyes, turning from their usual dead brown to a flashing burnt sienna. A plot started to draw itself in his conniving twelve-year-old mind. The plan for his escape, his revenge. Go to town, tell Kira goodbye. Run to Deling City, make a way to get to Juno as fast as possible, get on a ship, go to Costa Del Sol... and he'd be that much closer to his freedom. Balamb Garden, the place he'd dreamed of enrolling in for so long... There he'd prove himself, become an A-class SeeD, and prove his father wrong, once and for all.   
  
He let out a sigh and pushed himself up in bed, and grimaced at the pain that shot up his arm. Hissing he placed a hand over the spot where his father's fist had connected. He'd have to learn to dodge a lot faster if he wanted to make it to Balamb Garden alive. His master plan dissolved and for a moment the flames were quelled when the sound of a shattering bottle caught his attention. "Ugh, dad must have passed out... well I have my stuff packed... maybe I'll make it if I leave now... I can't stay here any longer," he thought to himself as he stood up and slowly pushed his door open.   
  
The air was even colder in the bare hallway, and as he stepped down the hall, shadows flickered and shifted around him as the night became alive, possessed by evil beings created by his thoughts. His father was slumped down in the couch, a hand lazily draped over his chest while his other arm hung over the edge of the couch, the bottle he had been grasping had slipped out of his hand and glass fanned over the floor. "Da... Eugene?"  
  
His father's head was tilted down, chin resting on his chest, hair forming a curtain around the dirty, unshaven face. He appeared to be asleep, but something struck up a chord of fear, and the room became the stage for a nightmare. Slowly the boy crept forward, wooden boards creaking under his light weight. Something felt wrong. His heart raced, and he very slowly knelt down next to his unresponsive father. Even though his mind was screaming at him to run, his need to know outweighed it and he leaned forward and tilted his head to see his father's face. Eugene's eyes were open. Erik gasped and quickly drew back, and in his scuffle his hand landed on a long shard of broken glass that ripped through his hand, tearing through his palm and jutting out of other side. He swore and carefully pushed himself up, then looked back at his father, who hadn't moved so much as a finger. As he stared at the man in shock, the burning pain of the glass embedded in his hand demanded his attention, making him abandon the body and head into the kitchen to take care of it. Whimpering in pain his hand dripped a trail of blood onto the floor, which shone ebony black in the moonlight that stabbed sharply into the dark kitchen like a knife. He pulled a towel off of the oven handle and braced himself as he gripped the blunt end of the glass shard and prepared to pull it out. His mind screamed, and whether or not he screamed himself, the pain that shot through his hand made him blank out for a moment. After a moment of breathing heavily and keeping whatever little food in his stomach down, he heard a groaning noise coming from the living room. "What the... alive?"   
  
Eugene shifted slightly on the couch, and his face was wrought with struggle. Erik stepped back into the living room, and his mind raced as he watched. Would he help him? Or would he take the chance to run? This was the only time in his life he'd ever seen his father weak, vulnerable... the burning flames rose in his chest again, and inside something broke and he could hear it, like the shattering of the beer bottle, the melody of his life. A wicked smile made his lips turn, and he stepped forward, grasping the glass shard in his uninjured hand. His steps on the wooden floor were as the steps of death, the footsteps of a killer. He stared down at his father, who now was nothing more than an insect in his eyes. "For once Eugene... I'm right."   
  
A fanged, malicious smile, eyes flashing with a fire about to burst out. He struck, and the glass shard sank easily into his father's neck, like a knife piercing butter. His father's screams were lost in his son's cries for revenge.   
  
"Keep screaming, keep asking for mercy, just like I did!"   
  
Chaos.  
  
"Why the hell did you hate them? Why did you take me away?!"   
  
Vengeance.  
  
"Stop struggling, just die!"   
  
Murder.   
  
But it wasn't enough, he wasn't going to watch his father simply bleed. He leaned down, and wrapped his arms around the gasping man's neck, warm blood smearing on his skin and splotching his clothes.. "Goodbye." With a simple twist and strength fueled by adrenaline and loathing, a loud, sickening crack was the sound that signaled the end of the boy's imprisonment.  
  
He froze in place, his heart beating loudly, trying to escape his shrinking chest. He slowly let go and took a weak step back, struggling to keep his balance. Dead. Those eyes wide with fear stared right back up at him. Cold, unmoving, fixed on his face. He had to get out of here, he couldn't let his father see where he was at. His mind weakly fumbled and ideas frantically crashed in his mind as the blood spilled onto the floor. The smell of death was overwhelming him, and he quickly stumbled backwards into the kitchen and felt the fear leaving a smear in his mind. He looked around. He could feel his father, no, the body, still staring at him. He had to get rid of it. They always said, that fire cleansed all… there was a book of matches laying on the counter by the sink.  
  
He stood outside, watching blankly as his house burned to the ground. The anger was gone. The fear was gone. So was the hope. So was the vengeance. He was empty. He wouldn't feel any sense of loss until the next day. He wouldn't feel regret until the next week. He wouldn't try to move on until the next month. But by summer, he would have forgotten almost all of it. But for now, he was empty.  
  
The night was no longer cold. But his heart was.  
  
Erik's eyes were wide and unfocused as he convulsed and struggled to crawl out of her lap, his stomach churning as the heat of the flames burned his skin. "Oh Shit!" He gasped, falling onto the floor and throwing his head over the waste bin, trembling as he tried to hold back his nausea.   
  
Serena placed a cool hand on the back of his neck, hoping to help him calm down.   
  
He closed his eyes and took a deep breath before coughing, and a sour stench poisoned the sweet air and lingered in his mouth after his stomach emptied itself. "Why… why did you have to dig that up again?" he sobbed out between labored breaths. She could see his body tremble all over.  
  
"Because… a man once told me," Serena stated sadly to him, "that 'what you bury has a way of blossoming'. I'm…"  
  
"What?" asked Erik, coming partway out of his own trauma to worry about her.  
  
"I'm just… afraid," she said quietly.  
  
"Afraid of what?" He wiped off the back of his mouth and pushed himself away from the fouled waste bin, and sought out the darkest corner of the room, leaning against the cold stone wall. "That I'll kill you too, and then maybe just for laughs I'll take out Riku and Akira?"  
  
"Afraid of what would bloom from your buried past."  
  
"So that's why you brought these memories back?"  
  
"Yes… because… I wanted you to deal with them now. I think that… if we had let them fester until they came for you, then… I'm not sure you would have survived."  
  
"But… it still hurts…" He closed his eyes and wrapped his arms around himself, not wanting to look at her as she walked across the room and knelt down in front of him.  
  
"It should. I would be more afraid if you saw these and it didn't hurt."  
  
He paused to think on this. He turned his face further away from hers, his body shaking, but he couldn't hide the tears from her. She gently cradled his head and shifting to lean back against the wall next to him. For a moment they quietly lay in each other's company, each gaining comfort from the other. Erik began to feel uncomfortable, unable to ignore the steadily growing crick in his neck. "I need to move." He quietly said, after regaining the ability to force words out of his mouth.   
  
"Sure." She released her hold on his shoulders and watched as he sat up, stretched and shyly avoided meeting her gaze as he turned and re-took his spot, laying on his stomach and resting his head on her chest, or at least in that general area, it was hard to tell as the geography of her body was obscured by countless layers of fabric. "Comfortable now?"   
  
Erik blushed and buried his face in the creamy, bland layers and tried to relax. It was so strange... knowing that he was a murderer, yet it was if somehow those things had never happened, and he was filled with a sense of peace and felt content. Perhaps somehow, by recognizing his past he'd atoned for the present? The stench of blood still bored into his brain, making him twitch. Serena's hands gently stroked his cheeks, and he melted under her touch. "Tell me Erik... who was it that moved you to join Riku?"  
  
"It wasn't just people, it was feelings I had.... but I guess... at first it was because I was so interested in Akira...." here he paused to shudder and felt his stomach twist, "but other than that... it was because Red and Irvine were pushing me to open up more, crawl out of my box..."  
  
"And... how did you find out about me?"  
  
"Now that's a weird story... well Akira had locked me in her room..."  
  
"Erik, enough about her."  
  
"Oh right, some dude in a black coat...what was his name...um... An....dang..."  
  
"Ansem?"  
  
"Yeah, that's it."  
  
Serena sighed and gently kissed his forehead. "I knew my father would come looking for me." 


	44. Legend of War

Chapter 44: Legends of War  
  
Akira pushed herself off of the cold stone floor and grimaced as her back popped in several different places. "Can't be healthy." She muttered to herself as she wrapped her arms around herself and tried to bring life back into her numb legs. Once she was certain they weren't going to collapse under her, she approached one of the small slit windows and looked outside. Night had fallen in the Farplane, as the sky above was now a deep blue-black, filled to the brim with an infinitesimal number of stars, as if someone had tried to force an entire galaxy to fit in the small expanse of sky. Her mind reeled as she tried to take in the sight of the sky, and the pyreflies that glowed below, still singing their eerie song above the voices of the waterfalls. It was unbelievable. And yet, something inside her fluttered in anxiousness, as if this place was teetering on destruction. A bright flash caught her attention. A single streak of light across the sky -a shooting star. She softly gasped in awe, and couldn't help but smile. Soon she saw another one, then three more, followed by seven... soon the entire farplane seemed to fall silent as the lights streaked outward from a single point, almost like a firework. Riku quietly stepped behind Akira and watched the display over her shoulder, and foreboding rose in his chest, making him tense. "Should we tell Trelain?" Akira softly whispered, even though she didn't expect anyone to answer her question. "I think the Oracle will know more about this then the Guado would." Akira jumped and looked up at Riku over her shoulder. "Didn't hear you. . ." She turned her attention back to the window. Riku remained quiet, and shivered as the air around them suddenly became cold. He leaned forward and wrapped his arms around Akira's waist, pulling her close so he could soak up her warmth. In response she folded her arms over his and leaned against him. She let out a sigh, and a white cloud escaped her mouth. "Wow. . ." She said, watching another cloud raise above her head. "It's what happens when the air is colder than your breath." He softly explained. "Riku. . ." A white crystal formed in front of her, and gently floated down to land on the tip of her nose, where it melted. "Snow?"  
  
Erik shivered and rubbed his arms to keep warm as he leaned upright. "Hyne it got cold." "The seal must have broken." Was Serena's response, as she pushed herself off the ground and walked over to the window. "Woah... check it out." Erik softly said, seeing the star-shower from his spot on the floor. "Is that what you meant, the seal breaking?" "Yes... the seal that kept Sin trapped within the abyss of the Farplane is breaking down. The Sacrifice is slowly losing control over Sin... I don't know how long she'll be able to keep it at bay so you and your friends can prepare... I imagine once the Sacrifice departs, the Keeper will try to hold it back as well... I will explain it soon, let us call up Riku and Akira." She walked over to the trapdoor and lifted it up, and Tremere gave a very relieved sigh. "Tremere, I now wish to speak to Akira and Riku." "As you wish, Serena." The guado seemed somewhat worried, and his shaky breaths came out in white puffs that were slowly taking longer and longer to dissipate as the temperature continued to drop. Erik sat back on the couch and watched as Akira ascended the ladder and pulled herself up into the room, and his heart fluttered slightly. His sister... the whole entire time, he'd never been much further than a few miles from her... the more he thought about it, the more frustrated he was that he hadn't taken Irvine's generous offer to attend the party in Destiny Islands with the rest of the crew. Then that was followed by a quick flash-back to his brief kiss during the photo shoot... and his face turned red. Even though she was clear on the other side of the fire-lit room, she could see her friend's face turning varying shades of crimson and pink, and it made her wonder what on earth he could have possibly learned from the Oracle. "Are you okay?" She softly asked as she walked towards him, and it hurt when he wouldn't meet her gaze. "Yeah, um.. I'm fine... I'll talk about it later, just not right now." She shrugged in response and sat down next to him. "You were only up here for like, half an hour... what all happened?" "What? Was that all? I thought I was in here for an eternity..." his voice trailed off. Time is all we have here, she said  
When Riku finally pulled himself up into the room, the eerie cold in the room seemed to be abated, strange when one considered his usually icy personality and cool, collected speech. One would instead expect the room to grow even colder... or at least to be colder around him. He shivered and rubbed his arms as he crouched down in front of the fire, all those years living on a tropical island left his skin unhardened to the effects of harsher climates. Serena looked at the now assembled group from under her hood, her veils laying discarded on the floor. "At last, the heroes of this story are here." Erik smirked bitterly at the comment, and the look in his eyes made Akira's stomach knot up. "The explanation for your presence here will take me a while to explain... but since the seal keeping Sin within Gaea is breaking, we will have to make it brief. The best I can do for now is to simply give you what I can before we leave." the voice continued from under the layers of white fabric.  
"We? You're coming with us?" Akira asked, feeling like as if a holy relic from a church was asking to be carried away in her pocket. "Aren...Shouldn't you be here?" "Yes but... If I do, I'll be trapped within the Farplane for eternity... the only reason why there are portals into this dimension is because of the time distortion... surely the Guado Maester would have explained it to you?" Although unseen, it was sensed that her eyes flickered over to Riku, who was staring almost unseeingly into the orange blaze that was slowly consuming the logs in the fireplace. Riku's response was soft, and seemed to come from years of unexplained wisdom. "All those years, I never felt that I belonged... that I was out of place... life had something more for me, some sort of calling... but just now do I really understand it. I'm from another world almost... another time and place... I'm starting to remember a few things... but not a lot... a woman's voice, I think it's my mother's..." He looked up and shook his head apologetically, realizing he was rambling. "Sorry, I always think better when I talk through my emotions... so tell me Oracle... why exactly did my mother leave me at Destiny Islands?" Serena smiled sadly under her cloak and took a deep breath before answering. "Your mother knew what she was doing... in the time during which you were born, the world was on the brink of a world war... and as royalty, she knew that you would be a prime target... so she sent you forward in time to a place where she knew that you would be safe... at least until you had grown old enough to stop the results of that war in this age, then she would come back for you and bring you home." "Woah... say what? I don't understand.. I'm royalty?" "Well... in a way, yes... you were the princess' son..." Riku's mind decided that it couldn't comprehend what she was saying, so he pushed on ahead to his next question. "And... what results of the war? The world doesn't seem that screwed up to me..." "Ah.. Surely you have read in a book somewhere before or heard from elders about the legend of a great war that was waged thousands of years ago, in which a great dragon was created by powerful wizards... the weapon to end the war... but the dragon was too feirce and wild, and it was created from the very sins of mankind; and no person can conquer their own sin. So thus the dragon ravaged the country, until at last a woman and her husband used their own power of goodness and strength to subdue the great creature, and trapped it within the center of the earth." "A long and fanciful fairytale that parents read as a bed-time story." Erik responded, and when his eyes met Riku's disapproving gaze, a silent clash made the room that much more tense. "Erik, after all I've shown you, who are you to disbelieve anything?" was the Oracle's icy reply, which made him sink back in the chair. "After thousands of years, any tale will be stretched out of proportion and turned into legend, especially when it is always passed on through spoken word. However... the war I spoke of was the one during which you were born, Riku. The world back then was called Spira, and the countries that fought were Alexandra and Hume. Back then the world was filled with light, and the technology man had come to create was a testament to how far the human race had come... but somehow, and it even remains a shadow to me, darkness began to creep into the hearts of the people in both kingdoms. Jealousy towards neighbors, hatred, bitterness... eventually the technology began being used to make weapons... airships started carrying cannons, black mages became greater in number while white mages began disappearing, and more and more often strangers would meet late at night and exchange whispers. At last, after three years the tension broke out into a war which raged for nearly fourteen years... it wasn't ended until Alexandra reveiled its great weapon, created by hundreds of the greatest minds in the country. They called it Sin...." She shivered, then rest a hand on the mantle to steady herself as she continued on, "Nothing could control it, but Princess Shiva of Alexandra, and Prince Bahamut of Hume both realized what had to be done... they both used their very lives to seal the great beast within the great mass of energy deep within the earth, the Gaea... or the Lifestream. But in the end both countries had been destroyed, reduced to blood-stained rubble and smoke... inspired by the bravery of the two enemies' unity and defeat of Sin, the two countried joined together, and slowly rebuilt the land." "But...." Riku softly spoke, giving it all enough time to sink in, "what are the results of that war that I'm supposedly here to fix? You said... something about the seal that holds Sin in Gaea was breaking? So... is that my job, to kill Sin?" "Exactly... you see, to this day, a whole millennium later, the Sacrifice Shina, and the Guardian Bahamut are still using every last ounce of their strength to keep Sin captive... but it won't last much longer, as they're both weak... but it isn't you who holds the power to truly defeat the dragon... you're the key to unlocking the power...." "Then where is the power?" "I'll tell you when the time is right. Until then, I don't have much time, so allow me to gather the weapons I have been creating for you." "Dude, you've been making us weapons?" Erik asked. No doubt in his mind now that she was dead serious about all these strange stories she'd been telling them now. "Mmmhmm... besides, I know how that battle with the Jumbo Cactuar went, if you lost so poorly to that creature, there's no doubt in my mind you'd be eaten alive by Sin." Akira groaned and rolled her eyes. "Like we need to be reminded? Boy, whoever decided it was up to us to save the world must have a great sense of humor." "Hyne does have a sense of humor, but that isn't the way he runs everything... instead, he likes to testify his power by using those that no one would ever expect... he works through our weaknesses instead of our power." Once again Erik seemed to disappear into the overstuffed couch. "So tell me, how do you know all of this, especially the whole story about the war? In fact.... who exactly are you, and how did you get here?" Riku began shooting questions rapid-fire, and by now he was standing. "Because I was there when all of this happened... in fact, you and I are related, dear Riku... you are my nephew. I am Bahamut's sister. My brother fell in love with your mother Shiva just three years before the war broke out..." 


	45. Escape from the Farplane

Chapter 45: Escape from the Farplane (Emery County family tree)

"Oh great, this family tree gets more interesting by the second." Erik groaned, putting a hand on his forehead. "Looks like I'll be dating your aunt, Riku. Which is funny, because if I were to marry her, Akira would be going out with her own nephew!"  
"What! I'm not related to you, Erik," Akirame shot back.  
"Actually, you're my twin sister, but you were too young to remember when dad dragged me out of the house to leave you and mom on the island."  
"I'm your _sister_! You'd better had just recently found that out, because you have a _lot _to explain about kissing me back at Balamb Garden!"  
"He kissed you!" Riku joined in the fray, his expression livid.  
"Never mind!" Erik and Akira both responded.  
Serena groaned as the question marks and exclamation points continued to clutter the air. "Are you done arguing yet?" She shouted over them all, finally silencing them.  
"Uh... lemme think... chaos, confusion and rioting... yeah, I'm done for now." Erik said, scratching the back of his head with a certain sense of accomplishment.  
Suddenly, they were all silenced as a the tower shook beneath their feet, as if it were shuddering, and dust floated down onto their heads from the ceiling. "What the heck was _that_?" Akirame coughed out as she dusted herself off.  
Another tremble ran through the earth, this one knocking them off their feet and into each other. "Hurry, we must run, the Farplane is collapsing!" Serena shouted, running to the couch to look out the window, and she watched in amazement as cracks began zig-zagging across the ground, and the once placid pyreflies began screeching and darting about. "We have to hurry to the seal, maybe we can save her!"  
Riku gulped as the trembling began growing more violent, and they could all clearly feel the tower beginning to tilt. "Oh shit, what are we going to do now!"  
Suddenly, a thought occurred to Erik. He quickly removed his whip from his belt and struggled to open the handle as they could hear the tower beginning to groan and creak. At last the handle opened with a snap, and the materia clattered out onto the floor. "Damn it! Come on, which one is it..." He scrambled to pick them up and sort them out, and out of the corner of his eye, under the bed, he could see the golden stone he was searching for. He slowly slid over and reached for it, when a large crack ran through the middle of the room. His heart pounding, he looked back towards the stone and quickly reached for it, then as soon as his fingers closed around it he closed his eyes and tried to focus. "Come on... focus... try to invision what you're trying to free... channel your energy... free the energy...come on..." Suddenly he sensed what was like firing a gun. The stone sharply jolted in his hands, and he opened his eyes to see a stream of bright golden light shooting out. "Woohoo, I did it!"  
"Did what!" Riku shouted, clinging tightly to Akirame.  
"Haha, I just used materia without using my whip!"  
"That's nice, but how the heck is that helping us!"  
"Check it out!" Erik smiled, pointing out the window to a large, tawny griffon hovering just outside the tower. It cawed inquiringly at him over its shoulder, its bright golden eyes showing no worry about the current seismic disaster. "Everybody, get on!" Without hesitating he jumped out the window and winced when he hit the back of the large, Chevy Blazer-sized beast with a thud.  
Riku and Akira both rushed to the window, expecting to see the crazed boy splattered on the ground, but instead saw him tightly gripping the feathers of an animal that wasn't even supposed to exsist. "I'll be danged, he did it." Akirame softly said, suddenly screaming when Riku pushed her out the window before jumping out after her. "Come on Serena!"  
She hesitated, looking unsure for a moment.  
"Come on, hurry up!" urged Erik. All three of them were already perched atop the griffon. "Why are you waiting?"  
"I haven't left this tower...in longer than I can remember," she said softly, looking about at all the familiar sights she'd be leaving behind. "I'm not sure if I can...leave everything I know...even if it is a prison."  
"Come with me," said Erik, holding out his hand for her. "Even if we don't know what's out there, I'll be with you."  
She smiled a little at his words, then nodded. Finally, she boarded the griffon, and they flew away from the crumbling tower.  
"We gotta find the seal now and try to stop it from breaking!" Riku shouted over the ruckus of the falling rubble.  
Serena quietly pointed a finger out towards the orange swirling clouds, which were now turning an angry red from the equivalent of a rising sun. Squinting, Erik could barely make out a strange blue glowing disk in the blood-colored mist. "I see it! Come on, let's go!"

The griffon powerfully winged its way through the chaotic scene of crumbling land formations and darting pyreflies, working its way up into the thick, choking mist. Suddenly, they broke through and rose above the clouds to see a small floating island, upon which was a dramatically carved arch with intricate designs, to which a young girl was bound. "Oh my god... is that... the Sacrifice?" Akirame whispered as they approached closer.  
"Yes... the Maiden of the Seal... the Sacrifice... isolated from the world her entire life, to be kept completely clean so she could pure enough to keep Sin contained." Serena calmly answered.  
The Maiden looked ageless, with short white hair cropped around a face that would have been perfectly beautiful if not for the pain etched into it, and she gave screams of anguish as something caused her to strain against the ropes tied around her ankles and wrists. The glowing blue light was coming from behind the archway, and it was beginning to become more and more intense. "Hurry up, Erik!" Riku shouted, then as soon as they were close enough, he leapt off the back of the griffon and landed on the edge of the island, feeling his heart pound faster in his chest, almost as if it were trying to escape his body. Slowly he approached closer and looked up at her body suspended several feet from the ground, which had suddenly fallen still. "Is...she dead?" Erik softly asked, looking to Serena.  
An ominous breeze ruffled the Maiden's long white dress, then suddenly her bright red eyes snapped open and she stared directly at Riku, freezing him in place. "Riku, run!" She screamed in a heart-twisting voice.  
Riku gasped, then turned just in time to see a skinny, warped black dragon breaching the clouds. "You've interfered long enough!" A deep voice shouted to them.  
The dragon swooped over the island and a tall, black-cloaked figure dropped down from it in front of Riku in a kneeling position, then slowly rose up. "I've watched you since the very beginning, Riku... Seymour told me not to interfere directly... hehehe, but I'm not going to play by the rules anymore."  
Riku pulled his sword out of its sheath and bravely held it out in front of him, trying to defy the man before him, whose very voice alone demanded complete respect and authority. "A brave gesture.." The voice responded, and two lightly tanned hands rose up to pull back the hood, and Riku's eyes were caught by the bright green ones staring down at him.  
Serena softly gasped and her eyes widened. "Sephiroth! Erik, dive, quick!" She suddenly grabbed Erik's shoulders and forced them down, making the bird dive into the clouds as the dragon swooped in to attack.  
Sephiroth tossed aside his cloak and let it fall off into the unseen, then in one dramatic motion he drew Masamune from its sheath. "No one defies me and lives to speak of it."   
The sword came out so fast, Riku had no time to respond, and he was thrown down onto the ground, his sword clattering but a few feet away from him. Gasping, he rolled out of the way as the sword flew down again, and quickly grabbed the handle of Luna Luz and brought it up above him to block the next blow. The two struggled and pushed against each other, and with unexplainable strength Riku shoved upwards and hastily got up onto his feet. "You're not letting Sin out!" He roared, bringing his flaming blade up and swinging it at the silver-haired enemy's side.  
Sephiroth chuckled from behind him. "Faster, Riku!"  
Riku choked in disbelief and looked at the empty space in front of him, then cried out in pain as he was roughly pushed back down onto the ground. "A-Akira..." he coughed, slowly pushing himself back up into a kneeling position, only to have Sephiroth grab him by the hair and painfully yank his head back.  
"No one can save you Riku... this is where your pitiful journey ends." Sephiroth whispered into the boy's ear, and the boy's struggling made his crazed grin widen.  
Meanwhile, Akirame was fighting with Serena and Erik for control of the griffon, which was still being closely pursuited by Sephiroth's mount. "Damn it, I have to help Riku!" She hysterically screamed, trying to grip at anything she could to alter the creature's course.   
Suddenly, the dragon gave a loud screech and pulled back, and Akirame's heart stopped. "What..."  
Erik quickly pulled the griffon back up above the clouds, and everyone fell still in disbelief. Riku knelt on the ground, and Sephiroth slowly raised his sword above him, then thrust it downwards into their friend's back, making Riku loudly scream in pain. With one more rough push, the sword severed his spine and emerged in a bloody mess from his stomach, and Riku's head went limp and hung forward. Akirame let out a scream of horror and disbelief as Sephiroth withdrew his sword. . Not caring who tried to stop her, she stood and leapt towards the island, stumbling as she landed, then quickly scrambled over to the limp body of her best friend and love.  
"R-Riku... no... you can't die!" She sobbed, pulling his dead body up into her arms and holding him against her chest, tears flowing uncontrollably as she looked into his vacant eyes. Gently, she pulled the hair out of his face and kissed his cold, lifeless lips one last time. "Oh, Riku..." 


	46. Apocalypse Upon Us

Chapter 46: Apocalypse Upon Us

Akirame was completely devestated. Riku's eyes stared into nothingness, and the light within them that once made them so brilliant was now gone, leaving a dull void. How could this possibly happen? The vision she'd had so long ago, on a train headed towards Transverse City, had violently come true. All but for one part... Erik wasn't holding her back now.  
Sephiroth grinned widely, carelessly flicking his blade and spraying blood all over Akirame's face. Riku's blood.  
"I would kill you" he said, turning away from her to stare up at the struggling Sacrifice"but then you wouldn't be here to mourn and despair."  
"Damn you..." cried the girl, clinging tightly to Riku's body, which was quickly losing its warmth.  
"Akirame, let's hurry and get the hell out of here" Erik shouted to her, watching as the Sacrifice began screaming in pain, and the ropes dug deeper into her skin.  
"I can't... I'm not leaving him here" Akirame loudly screamed back, tightly holding onto the slowly stiffening corpse. Sephiroth grinned at her obvious agony, but seemed otherwise completely occupied with watching the Sacrifice.  
Erik nervously steered the griffon in to land on the little floating island, then leapt onto the ground and ran towards her. "Come on, Aki! We can take him with us" He told her, bending down to try and help her up.  
Offended that he would try and remove her from Riku's presence, she pushed him back and her grip on the body tightened. "You're not taking him away from me"  
"Akirame, we're all going to die if you don't hurry up and let me take his body"  
Yet Akirame still protested and cradled Riku, possessed by him like a little girl enraptured by a doll. Erik had no choice, and he sighed as he firmly gripped her arms, pulling them behind her back, and wrestled her away. "Serena, hurry and get the body" He commanded as he tightened his grip on Akirame, who screamed and cried as she slowly relaxed in his arms. And Sephiroth only smiled wider. And then, he opened his mouth an laughed.  
Soon they were all upon the back of the griffon, Erik in the lead, steering the large creature down through the smoke, trying to remember where the exit was, Serena tightly clinging to his shoulders, and Akirame in the very back with Riku's body propped up against her, Sephiroth's maniacall laugh following them all the way. They dove down through the red mist, then screamed when the ground rushed up towards them. Erik felt his heart stop as he pulled back on the creature as hard as he could, which also recognized the danger. It spread out its wings to catch the wind, trying to slow its rapid descent, giving a loud cry of alarm. Akirame tightly closed her eyes and held onto Riku's body as something told her just to let go of the bird. She felt the air surround her for what seemed forever, then cried out as pain richothed through her body as she roughly slammed into hard ground, then skidded for several feet until her back slammed into a rock. Trembling, she slowly opened her eyes after hearing a series of loud thumps and other bodies skidding across the dirt, and saw that they were but a few feet from the portal which had brought them here. Erik was lying on his back a few feet away from her, badly cut and bruised, Serena was already kneeling over him, trying to wake him up. The griffon had disappeared, but a large stone rest in its place, faintly glowing. "Wh...what happened" Aki asked in a daze.   
Serena raised her head to look at her. "We crashed... hurry, help me wake up Erik."  
Slowly shifting to raise herself up, she gently let go of Riku's body to crawl over and help rouse her friend. Slowly he opened his eyes and groaned in pain, then sat up and looked around. "Aw, damn..." he softly muttered, rising up on sore knees and limping over towards the summoning gem which lay on the ground.  
Suddenly, the pyreflies stopped their screaming and everything fell still and silent as the red mist above them settled and fell to the ground. Even the cackling laughter of Sephiroth had stopped. They could clearly see the island hundreds of feet above them, the blue glow was now bright enough to almost blind them. Their hearts stopped, and they all could feel the doom that was approaching them. An inhuman scream emitted from the Sacrifice's mouth, and the unspeakable happened. The light forcefully pushed her against the ropes, and the sickening sound of flesh being torn echoed throughout the Farplane. The ropes, still holding tightly to her wrists and ankles, bore the strain as the maiden's torso was forced forward, causing her limbs to tear from their sockets, and blood sprayed everywhere. And Sephiroth laughed, laughed long and hard, his arms raised exultantly towards the sky, his head thrown back and his mouth opened wide as blood rained down upon him, staining him red.  
"No" Serena screamed, suddenly rising to her feet and tightly clenching her hands together. "The seal"   
Something was slithering out of the light, two huge scaly, lizard-like hands emerged to grip the sides of the arch, fingers covered with rust, blood and what seemed to Akirame to be thick cables that held the mess together. "Oh Hyne... is that..." she softly spoke.  
"Sin...it's emerging from the prison where it's been kept captive for centuries... millenia.. oh no... an apocalypse is upon the earth" Serena gasped, stepping backwards. "We must hurry and leave this place"  
"Come to me, my dragon, and we shall feast upon the destruction of the world" shouted Sephiroth madly.  
No one protested as Akirame stooped down next to Riku's body, which somehow had seemed to grow considerably heavy, and tried to lift it. "Help, I can't get him" She sobbed, choking as she struggled against the weight.   
Erik, unable to just abandon her there, quickly knelt down and helped her, quickly hoisting him over his shoulder and grunting under the load as he moved as quickly towards the portal as he could. Hastily he shoved Akirame through, watching as she stumbled into the hallway of the temple. "Here he comes..." He forced out in an exhausted breath, lowering Riku's body through the seemingly shrinking portal into Akirame's arms.  
Serena stared fearfully at the other side, knowing what she was about to experience. "Erik..." she softly whispered, putting her hand on the boy's arm.  
Erik looked back at her. "You have to do this Serena. I'm not leaving you here." He gently picked her up in his arms and with a deep breath, stepped through and gasped when suddenly her feather-light clothes were weighed down, and he stumbled and fell to the stone floor.  
Serena softly gasped in pain as her spirit was suddenly wrapped in heavy flesh. Bones, muscle and skin encased her, and she blinked and took her very first breath of air, her newly formed lungs aching in pain, and her heart raced. At first she could only pant heavily, going into the shock of trying to supply her bloodstream with much-needed oxygen, a burden she had not born for thousands of years, and altogether had forgotten how to do. She slowly raised a thin, weak arm and could see that she still bore her thick dress. Pulling a curtain of long, heavy hair away from her face she tried to rise from the ground, and felt the sudden assistance of a pair of hands on her shoulder. "Thank you, Erik..." She coughed, rising to her unsteady feet.  
But Erik looked up from behind her, assisting Akirame with Riku. "Serena..."  
Serena slowly swallowed and raised her head, dizzy and confused by the sudden colors and textures that she could now see, instead of lights and colored hues of objects and people around her. A large, strong hand slid over her cheek and gently raised her head, turning it upwards to look into a face she couldn't possibly ever forget. "Ada" She cried out in her native tongue, wrapping her arms tightly around her beloved father's neck. "Daddy..." she sobbed into his chest, letting him hold her in just as tight an embrace.  
Erik silently watched as Ansem held his daughter for the first time in years, and couldn't help but shed a tear of happiness for them, wondering what it was like to long to see a relative for so long, with such a sick, heart-wrenching passion. Ansem lifted his amber-colored eyes to gaze at Erik with approval and insurmountable gratitutude, then slowly pulled back the alabaster cotton hood that hid his child's face, to reveal a face that was a milky chocolate color, framed by thick, multi-toned reddish-blonde hair that tumbled over her shoulders and hung about her waist. Her beautiful, plump lips spread in a bright white smile that lit up her mulatto features. Erik was completely enraptured by her, and could not deny that he was very inclined to take her as his rightful bride right on the spot. This entire moment only lasted for but a few brief seconds until Ansem put Serena into Erik's care as he assisted Akirame by easily lifting the lifeless body and cradling it in his arms. "We must hurry back to your friends and get help." He said, swiftly walking down the hallway ahead of them.  
Akirame quickly trotted up to walk alongside him, having to jog to keep up with Ansem's broad strides. Erik, still in a complete daze and gazing hungrily into Serena's shockingly deep blue eyes was awakened by her suddenly gripping his shoulders for support as she wavered on her legs and leaned into his chest, pressing her rather ample bosom into him. Erik, being a guy, and unable to help that fact, gave a large, impish grin of delight. "Now is not the time" Serena groaned at him, pulling herself up somewhat and unsurely putting a hand against the stone walls, then turning her head just in time to see the portal to the Farplane no longer there.  
"Sorry." Erik mumbled, taking her arm and helping her walk down the hallway, only to have Irvine appear around a corner and crash into him. "Irvine, watch it"  
"By Hyne, I finally found you" Irvine shouted, grabbing his friend's shoulders and shaking him. "You had me so damn worried! Oh, and who is this beautiful young friend of yours"  
Serena looked unsurely from the red-haired cowboy to Erik.  
"She's mine, Irvine, don't even think about it" growled Erik possesively. " Her name is Serena. Serena, this is Irvine, my friend."  
Irvine grinned and politely took off his hat and put it to his chest as he took her hand and politely shook it. "Irvine Kinneas."  
Serena smiled akwardly and once again looked over her shoulder. "Erik, we have to catch up with my father and Akirame..."  
Irvine put his hat back on and looked confused. "So all ya'll wandered off together, huh? Go figure, you left us to chase after beautiful women"  
Erik groaned impatiently. "Now isn't the time, Irvine! Hurry up and help me take Serena and find the others"  
"They're all back at the entrance, I figured that something had happened in here when we walked out and you guys were missing! Come on, let's go that way, I'm sure the others thought of doing the same thing."  
"But Riku, we have to get him out here fast" Erik protested as he followed his friend down the musty, dark hallways.  
"Why, did something happen to him" Irvine asked with concern.  
"He..." Erik's voice faltered"he's dead."


	47. Desolation

Chapter 46: Desolation

The ancient walls of the temple trembled and filled the air with dirt, the very earth itself shook with anger and pain, as the monster held deep inside itself struggled for release. Sin's giant, gnarled paws reached out through the tiny portal to the surface realm, scratching at the air, looking for something to grasp. Infuriated, it gave a shriek, like the sound of a train derailing itself and smashing into the ground. At last it withdrew, only to press its face to the window, and peered out with a huge, toxic-yellow eye. One would think that it had given up at last, as the eye blinked before its head was pulled away, and all was quiet for a few precious moments. But sin knew no limitations that it had, and was not giving up at all- it had simply changed its approach. It suddenly threw itself at the little portal, making it stretch and tear wider. Another time it charged and slammed at it with its shoulder, the portal at last gave way, and Sin was free. The great dragon leapt through, and burst through the ceiling of the temple, and erupted out for the first time in a millenia into fresh air. It gave a loud cry to announce its galiant return, and thrust a giant paw down onto the peak of the temple, smashing it like a child destroying a building made of toy blocks. The guado were utterly horrified, and screamed as they fled into the forest, praying that it would somehow keep them safe. But no one can possibly hide from the incarnation of their own past, their mistakes and fears, their deepest sins. Everyone instinctively cowered away in a hiding spot they found, covering their heads with their hands, and shrinking in terror, tightly closing their eyes and waiting for the lethal blow that such a monster would surely give.  
Ascertained that all knew of its freedom, the dragon spread two giant wings out from its back, mechanical wings made from rusted support beams and thick cables, with a slimy, mucus-covered leathery membrane stretched between each digit-like "bone". With these spread majestically above its head, it rose up on its powerful hind legs, and opened its gnarled, pock-marcked maw to expell a giant cloud of acid and poison, which spread out as it thrust its wings downward, eating away at everything it touched. Very little, if anything could survive such devestation. The beast of destruction flew into the air, to seek refuge from any who might challenge it yet, before it had fully gathered its strength.  
After the dragon's breath dissipated into the ground, a heavy silence took its place and filled the air. It seemed at first that no one survived. Suddenly, someone coughed from behind a pile of rubble, and slowly groaned as they stood up. Sora's brunette hair was matted about his face, and his eyes burned and teared up. "Hello!" He shouted, afraid that no one would answer.  
"I'm okay..." a female voice feebly responded to assure him, and Jerdania crawled out from a deep hole beneath the roots of a tree. "Sora... do you know if everyone made it out of the temple?" She asked as she unsteadily walked towards him.  
"I-I don't know... everyone else was ahead of me..." He shakily answered, and wrapped his arms around himself. Like Jerdania, his face was pale and covered with the sheen of a cold sweat, which had been sprinkled with dirt.  
"Come on Sora... if you're not injured, we have to look for others." was the only thing Jerdania could think of to do.  
Nodding, the boy quietly followed her, climbing over various bricks and tree branches, peering into the little hiding places the debris had created. Someone not too far away began to stir, and tried to push themselves up. "Help..." they softly pleaded, realizing they were unable to help themselves.  
"Don't move, I'm coming!" Jerdania cried back to them, and knelt beside the survivor to slowly roll them onto their back. It was Akirame, and laying beside her was the unresponsive Riku. Somehow she had managed to drag him into a little nook behind a decorative wall. "Oh thank god, Aki... I was afraid you'd died..."  
Akirame sullenly looked back up at her, then looked over at Riku. Sora and Jerdania both froze in horror. "He died before we even made it out of the Farplane." Akirame softly whispered, as she tried to push herself up.  
"Oh Hyne... what are we going to do?" Sora asked with a choked voice.  
"We have to find the others first, there's nothing we can do."  
Amidst the rubble and debris, the chaos that no one deserves to ever survive and live to see, life was found. Those some of us would call "lucky", who'd managed to take cover in just the right places, were left behind to stand as memorials to that horrible event, to pass on the story that would haunt the history of the Guados for generations to come. A history that, in fact, should have ended millenia ago, but the rift in time had brought them back, rebuilt the ruins of a grand Utopian civilization, only for it all to be crushed yet again by a great tragedy. Lucky? How is it lucky to be left behind after something so devestating? To be left without a friend, a family member, someone you loved and gave your heart to... Akirame finally understood now, what her mother meant. The attack on her mothers village all those years ago, and she was one of the very few survivors. Perhaps she was lucky to live, since later she gave birth to a beautiful daughter, Akirame... but she was alone as well, she'd lost her own mother, her father, brothers and sisters, friends, her home, absolutely everything.  
Sometimes, in great romances, a person will say that if they can not be with the one that their heart so strongly beats for, that they will die, that they will be crushed and become unable to stand breathing any longer. If only nature could be that merciful . . . heartbreak should kill us, indeed, just like it should have killed Akira, when Sephiroth's sword sliced through Riku's body, cutting his life short. But no... Akirame still lives, and she carries her body as we watch her now, searching the rocks and plants for any others that she recognizes. Her aim to live now has changed. Revenge. Burning, dark hatred and blood-soaked revenge. Sephiroth will pay dearly for what he's done.

At last, the sun gave up and let its light begin to die behind the ridge of the valley, and the dust in the sky started to clear away to show the stars still shining above, as if nothing had ever happened at all. In a large clearing outside what remained of the Guado city, a fire crackled in the steepining darkness. The "lucky" survivors had gathered together, and all silently stared into the burning flames, each deeply mulling over their own fate. Our familiar heroes and beloved friends still live, Sora, Irvine, Erik, Akirame, Ansem and Red, Serena, Kairi, Jerdania. None of them can utter words into the still air, though, none of them dare to break the sacred silence that has fallen over them all. More importantly, none dared to speak due to Riku's death. They all instinctively knew that a single word would be all it would take to send Akirame on an emotional holocaust, and they couldn't risk it. She still cradled his body, but now wrapped up in a blanket. His flesh had become stiff, cold and was slowly decaying. Up to this point the entire journey had been exciting, breath-taking, like the greatest camping adventure anyone could ever dream of. Now, it was deadly serious. They'd return home short of one dear friend. What would the people of Destiny Islands think? Such a young, serious boy, leading a group of foolish teenagers out into the wild unknown, and being returned in a blanket, unable to speak for himself and his actions any longer? Riku was dead. Gone.  
Yet despite all this, Ansem seemed to remain disgustingly calm, and offered no solace or tears, but a serious presence, as if he were just calmly waiting for them all to come up with the answer. Just his existence was starting to eat away at Akirame, and she saw him as her new enemy now. He must have known that Riku would die, trying to seperate Erik from the group. Oh, and Erik himself would surely taste her wrath, for being such a complete idiot. Her nerves frayed, caught fire, and at last snapped, and an electric surge rushed through the whole group as she suddenly pounded her fist into the dirt. "Damn it, someone speak!" She screamed, and burst into a fit of coughing.  
"Akirame, please calm down!" Kairi softly responded, standing up and holding her hands out to try and soothe her.  
"Calm down! Are you kidding me! The fucking love of my life is dead, and this Ansem just sits there, like he knows everything that's going to happen! Damn it, this is wrong, I want him back!"  
Erik bitterly ran his fingers through his hair and shook his head. "I'm sorry, Aki!"  
"You're sorry? Well at least it's a start."  
Sora quietly stood up and fidgeted with something in his pocket. "Maybe we should call up Cid and get them to come pick us up in an airship..."  
"I'm with you." Irvine nervously mumbled and shifted in his spot, pulling his hat down lower over his face.  
Dizzily Akira looked from one face to another, then stumbled back on uneven feet a few steps away from the uncomfortable heat of the fire, knelt down into the dirt and covered her face with her hands. "I wanna go home." She whimpered, and wrapped her arms around herself again.  
Jerdania couldn't stand just watching her suffer like that, feeling equally betrayed by what had happened. "Everyone.. let's try calling Cid, set up some sort of camp here, and just rest tonight... there's nothing that can be done right now." She forced herself to say over the voices of the others.  
Kairi nodded. "Jerdania's right..."  
Mechanically everyone straightened themself out and pulled out the supplies they'd managed to recover, and spread out a small set of sleeping bags next to each other and found themselves huddling amongst each other, minus Ansem and Red, who obligingly took up a sort of watch.

_She sits in the sand, feeling the cool ocean breeze run over her body, and enjoys the company of the ocean waves and the seagulls. She feels oddly grown up for once, and sees her body more as an object of beauty, something that could be admired, than a stumbling block. And why wouldn't she? A single glance at his face, a wink, a suggestive smile, and she can make his knees turn to jello. She's not the same timid girl who at one time would have blushed and outrightly run from his advances, but instead, as he sits down beside her, she aggressively turns to straddle his hips and slide her arms over his shoulders, and plant a kiss on his lips. Shivering as his heart trembles and his toes go numb and curl up into the beach, he pulls a strand of hair away from her face and looks up into her brilliant ice-blue eyes. "Thank you for letting me have this moment."   
"Don't leave, Riku, please... don't make me wake up, I want to stay here."  
"You already know it's a dream, Aki... you have to wake up eventually."  
"It's real enough. I don't want to wake up and have to remember to breathe again, to put one foot in front of the other. I just want this right now."   
He sighs and lays down on his back, sliding his arms around her small waist and holding her tightly to his chest. "I have to wake up too, Aki."  
"How can you wake up, you're asleep forever now."  
"I can't let go... I still have things that I need to do."  
"Like save the world?"  
He chuckles and rolls his eyes. "Yup, I gotta save the world before they'll let me go quite yet. I need you to keep remembering me Akirame, don't let me die in your thoughts. Keep me alive in your heart, and I'll be able to come back, I promise."  
"Will you remember this when you wake up?"  
"I'll try..."_


	48. Ragnarok

Chapter 47: He May Be Old, But at Least He's Not Like All Those Other Old Guys  
(A/n: This is a joke on myself, considering that I happen to have a crush on Ansem, despite how evil he was in Kingdom Hearts. I greatly admire him, for being able to pull off pants that tight.)

Even though the sun had no welcome, and everyone would have forced its light away into some dark, hidden cavern, until the world was ready to move on again, it came just as it always did, chasing the shadows that had held the remains of the Guado civilization in its inky grip, forcing them to hide behind rubble and plants. It also broke the fragile shell of sleep that everyone had slipped into the previous night, pulling everyone out of their unconscious, unaware state to make them once again open their eyes and remember to breathe on their own, and to put one foot in front of the other. The most intellectual, under such circumstances, seem to be the most in tune with the world around them, and naturally are the first to awaken, and the first to comprehend all these thoughts, perhaps even in the exact same wording, in their minds, while those who are usually teased for their thickness are now coveted for their obliviousness.  
Jerdania thought exactly all of that as she sat in the chilled morning air, the only one awake yet of their group, for even Serena and Ansem had at last given into sleep, the former had guiltily crawled into Erik's arms in the night while the latter leaned upright against a large stone block, his eyes closed, his face frowned deep in thought, even in sleep.  
Ansem, being a man of deep study and great thought naturally appealed to Jerdania, for she herself worshipped wisdom, always digging into books and adding to her volumes of knowledge. But seeing Ansem was like seeing history at last coming alive, since naturally she had read of the mysterious king of ages long past, the man who was thought of as a patron saint to modern science, for he crossed the boundries of superstition to discover truth, paving the way for open thinking. The great King Ansem de Tenshi II, ruler of the country of Alexandria, which was then considered the capital of rational thought, the very home of wisdom. Ansem's head drooped a bit, and her great idol gave bit of a snore before reaching up and scratching his neck. Wow, almost as amazing as traveling miles to a zoo to see a tiger flopped out in its cage fast asleep, then suddenly sit up and lick its paw before settling again. Hearts fluttered.  
Jerdania continued to watch him for a while, soaking in every little detail of the image, imagining him in her mind pouring over books, or dabbling in chemistry. Perhaps there was just the tiniest hint of a crush there as well, since she had once seen a picture of a painting of him in one of her many history books, and she'd instantly declared him to be charmingly handsome. Alright then, so it was full-blown obsession. She was just simply one of those whom nature has hardwired to take brains over brawn, and see to it that in the future, there's still a few geniouses in a world of ditzy blonde cheerleaders and idiot jocks. In her dreamy state, she watched as he slowly came to be awake and aware as she was, and his amber eyes, from which a sharp glint of hidden cynicism was hidden, looked up at her. A single, pale eyebrow arched. His watcher started, blushed madly and stumbled for something to busy herself with. "Breakfast, right. Must cook for everyone..."  
Ansem chuckled and shook his head. "You must be terribly nearsighted, to have been staring at me in such a love-struck way, young girl." He mused as he watched her struggle to find something in her backpack, which much to everyone's great relief had survived and been found intact, spices and all.   
"N-no..." She groaned and gave up as a tupperware container fell out of her hands onto the ground. "I wasn't staring at you in any way, I just... happened to be glancing at you when you woke up."  
"Don't think you can possibly try and fool this old man, I've seen people in love before, I saw my own son have the exact same look in his eyes whenever he met with Shiva, and I had the same look in my own eyes when I first met my late bride."  
The words that he said automatically triggered a whole chain of information to pour out of Jerdania's head. "You married the princess of Treno, Celes Valentinas, who was ten years younger than you. She died during the plague that struck your kingdom only thirteen years after you'd married her and assumed the throne. In fact it was her death that plunged you into such deep interest in the sciences, because you didn't believe that the disease was some sort of judgemental wrath on your country, but you believed it was related to the phenomenal number of rats, and you introduced the idea of bringing in a great number of feral cats to counter the rodents..." her voice trailed off as Ansem's eyebrow arched again in stunned amazement.  
"You know me almost better than I know myself, child."  
Jerdania groaned and hid her face behind her hands. "I've read more books about you than I can count... you're my idol, my hero..." she sniffed. "My nose is bleeding."  
Ansem regarded all of this with a quiet, amazed sort of nonchalance. He'd been around the block more than once, and this was just another event in his journey of epic weirdness. "I would hope this stems more from any mark I might have left on the world, and not from anything more personal."  
Jerdania looked up at him as she stuffed a shred of tissue paper up her nose to stem the flow of blood. "Are you kidding me? You're an absolute hearthrob! You're handsome in the exact same way as Richard Gere!"  
Akward silence. Ansem blushed rather becomingly, and Jerdania paled. "Thank you?"  
"...Breakfast..." She started pulling things out of her bag again, and retrieved a baggie of eggs and a frying pan. "Scrambled okay?"  
Epic journey of weirdness indeed, even after two years he hadn't been let down yet. Still, it would be something to make note of in his journal that evening. When everything around you is utter mania, and you're the only sane person to be seen for miles around, you start wondering if the problem doesn't lie in your surroundings, but if there's something wrong with you.  
Jerdania arranged a mess of twigs and dry leaves where last night's fire had been, and she pulled out a matchbox from which she drew a single match, and struck it against the side of the box with such force that it simply snapped in half. No, he had yet to really indulge the thought that he might be the only crazy person. He quietly leaned forward where he sat and pulled off one of his long white gloves, then held his hand out with his palm upwards, and pulled out a long twig from the small pile of kindling that Jerdania had assembled. With little effort of any kind that anyone could have percieved, a great deal of heat rapidly built up in his hand until a flame appeared, and he lit the end of the twig, then used it to set fire to the rest of the kindling. "Magic is very useful, if you know how to harness it." He said as he smiled at her astonished face.  
"Black magic was banned almost fifty years ago." Jerdania finally managed to say.  
However, Ansem wasn't given a chance to respond as a few of the sleeping teenagers at last showed signs of life, sitting up and quietly recalling last night's events to mind. Irvine smiled a little at the sight of Jerdania already up and dutifully cooking something for the group to eat, wondering how on earth she could handle herself so well after something so bad had happened. "I don't think we'll have time to eat, Jer, Cid said he'd be here early."   
"How early?"  
"Like, in five minutes, I think. I'd worry more about gathering whatever stuff we still have together."  
And thus five minutes did pass, with the adventurers moseying about, gathering their things together with all the energy and excitement of a lot of hung-over college students packing to leave Cancun. The mood was sour, as was their stomachs at the sight of Riku's sleeping bag, sealed tight with his body inside. Soon the heavily forested, yet eerily silent valley began to echo with the droning whine of an airship approaching. The whine grew much louder, and the walkie-talkie-like device that Sora had recieved from one of the Cids gave a loud electronic chirp.   
"Hello!" Cid Highwind's gruff voice barked.  
Sora fumbled with the walkie-talkie for a moment, then finally pushed a button and spoke into the reciever, "Yeah, what's up?"  
"I can't even see where the hell all you kids are at, the forest is too damn thick..."  
"Um... there's a bunch of dust in the air, so we can't really see too well either."  
"Ah, so that's where you're at... my god, what did you kids do, go nuts with a pack of dynamite? Anyways, there's a nice big lake maybe half a mile north of where you're at, and I've been itching to try a water landing with this new airship."  
"You got another airship?"  
"Yup, state of the art, this baby... I wanted to call her Cid's Ridiculously Awesome Powership, but the other Cid said that the ancronym would spell 'Crap', so we settled on Ragnarok."  
"Right, we'll head straight there, then."   
"Wonderful, a half-mile hike is a wonderful way to start the morning." Kairi moodily grumbled.  
But, despite whatever protests they might have had, they were forced to begin rambling through the forest, following Jerdania with her compass and map. The entire forest was silent and dark, matching the mood perfectly. Akirame stayed towards the back of the group, burdened by carrying the sleeping bag with her love and memories wrapped inside with the body, and she seemed ready to cry or scream at any moment. She clung to the lifeless flesh, the shell that had been her friend and the only boy she'd ever kissed. The very least she could do was take it back to Destiny Islands and bury it herself. And yet, the very thought of watching him disappear into the earth didn't feel right, like as if there were something in the back of her mind she was forgetting. The air felt so brittle, it cut right into her chest, making it difficult to take in a deep breath without letting out a whimper. The trail began to steepen, and beyond the trees at the top they could hear the mind-numbing whine of the ship.  
The ragnarok was huge, red, and very high-tech looking. It was shaped in a manner like a blood-red Transformer tiger that had swallowed a bomb, which had traveled most of the way through its digestive system and... well, you can imagine for yourself, or at least use Google's handy image search if you're still at a loss.  
With a loud hydrolic hiss and the grinding sound of machinery, a large cargo door opened on the underbelly of the ship, and Cid Highwind casually stepped down to survey them. At first he noticed the grubby, miserable look of the teenagers, and noticed one face missing. He opened his mouth, then shut it again when he saw the heavy sleeping bag in Akira's arms. His stomach churned at the mere thought, and the presence of a tall cloaked man and a beautiful, unworldly looking girl wrapped in Irvine's coat didn't put him at ease. "What..." he managed, eyes locked on the cloaked figure, waiting at any moment to see a mint-green glow from under the hood.  
"Sin got out, Riku died, Ansem's from another time and his daughter Serena is from the Farplane, that's all." Akirame's voice softly recited, and without even looking up she forced her aching legs to carry her up the metal rampway into the sharp, metallic coldness.  
Hyne, they're just kids! Cid thought to himself. What the hell is going on here? If I knew any better, I'd haul these kids back to their parents and let ol' Spikey-head deal with the rest. But this ain't my business, is it? I won't ask 'em any questions, but I'm sure as hell interrogatin' the clown in the hood.  
As the small crowd ambled onto the airship like a herd of manic-depressed cattle, Cid closed his eyes and bit down on the cigarette that fit into its dent on his lip. It was actually a very old cigarette, from the very last carton he'd bought before he'd finally decided to quit. It was just the familiarity that he wanted; as a habit, for years he'd always had a cig hanging from his mouth, and with time the dent had formed, and even his teeth had shifted to form a gap around the nicotine-filled rolls of paper. Since when had he even stopped to think so deeply about something that simple about himself? It was as strange as the day he'd found himself scrubbing at his knuckles, trying to get rid of the black residue from grease and oil that had tattooed itself into his knuckles. Maybe he was just getting old, or maybe he was bored. Hmph, what would that spikey-headed idiot had said to all this? A crooked grin settled into the mechanic's gradually aging face. The kid would've worried. Worryin' never did anyone any good. Now Vincent, he would have laughed.  
Good grief, how long had he been standing there, just wasting time by thinking? He'd deal with all this serious junk later, and the Ragnarok still had a lot of buttons that hadn't been pushed yet.


	49. chapter names never match, anyhow

**Chapter After Next (don't need a number if the chapter's got a name, anyways) **

The creep in the black cloak hovered near the metal chocobo pens that had been recently welded into the cargo bay's hull, stroking one of the giant bird's head, soothing the nervous creature. "You mind taking your hood off? I don't like having people I don't know on my airship." Cid firmly asked, gripping a wrench in his toolbag that hung around his waist.  
"I assure you, you won't be needing to worry about me. And you wouldn't really be so daft as to club a harmless researcher's skull in with a tool, would you?"  
Cid didn't like it, but he had to admit it'd be a rather stupid move, but he'd rather safe than dead. Sensing that he wasn't going to move on, the hood was finally pulled back to reveal thick white hair, a bit greyish and dull from lack of a shower. Amber eyes, strong jaw and a cat-like expression in his eyes, sure wasn't Sephiroth, but damn close to it. "So you're Ansem, huh? What are you doing with those kids?"  
"Watching what happens. Tell me, were you one of those legendary heroes from so long ago that defeated the Mako-enhanced general?"  
"Sephiroth was a long time ago, and we all went our own ways after that. You some sort of history professor?"  
"He was, well, is a descendant of mine, my nephew, in fact. He was just as vile then, but your modern science and Jenova made him stronger."  
Cid didn't like this at all. There was enough resemblance to suggest that the two might've been blood, and Ansem radiated the same sort of charming eerieness. Come to think of it, Riku seemed to have some similar traits as well. "If I heard right, they say you're from the past, like some sort of time-traveling mad scientist from the middle ages."  
Ansem bristled at the words "mad scientist". In comparison to the blasphemous uses of technology he'd seen thus far, he was only a mildly ADHD-impaired scientist. "Think what you will" was his irrate answer.   
"Egh, don't explain how Sephiroth coulda been born centuries after Ansem's death. That's gonna keep me up at night." Cid stared up at the ceiling and habitually searched his shirt pocket for his lighter, and groaned as he remembered. "Oh yeah, I quit."

The living quarters had been significantly improved from their previous condition, newly outfitted with windows, bathrooms, new mattresses and a light coat of paint. The frankness of the rooms spoke of living with the necesseties, as opposed to the more indulgent feel of the Al-Bhed airship. "Man, this feels too much like my Garden field training days." Erik mumbled as he sat down on a lower bunk and stared at the middle of the room's floor, as did Irvine, Sora and Red, each with an appropriate look of glumness.  
In the middle of the floor lay what had survived of their belongings. Sora's clothes bag, only half full, Irvine's ammo box and Erik's mauled duffel bag, which held a great deal of everyday items, minus clothing. "Well, I guess most of us will be running around naked unless we find some clothes on this ship." Irvine commented, pointing out the overly obvious.  
"Maybe some of the crew will lend us some." Sora suggested.  
Erik leaned back on his hands and looked at his threadbare shirt, which might have been white at one time, and his jeans, which were starting to remind him of an old workshop rag. "Only option we got. Let's ask Cid about it."  
Red slightly nodded and followed them out into the hallway, where the temperature in the air was five degrees colder than the already cool rooms, and up along the hallway rollercoastered at varying degrees, from painingly cold to queasyingly warm. The dim lighting and lack of windows didn't help at all. Soon the claustrophobic tunnel opened up into a well-lit cafeteria. Kairi and Jerdania clattered down the metal stairway at the opposite end of the room, carrying large bags that appeared to be incredibly heavy. The boys crowded around as the bags were set on a bench's table. "We told Cid about our situation, and the crew put together their extra supplies for us." Kairi explained, pulling out boxed sets of medical supplies and neatly bundled clothing.  
Erik chuckled. "Takes care of my problems. I'll just take these and be on my way."  
Greedily scooping up a wad of clothes, he made for the hallway and felt something leathery slide down his chest to his stomach. This sensation, combined with his exhaustion and recent trauma, triggered an interesting reaction in him. He jumped and make a strange "ga-aah!" noise as he tossed the clothes and swatted at his shirt before finally squealing, unsticking his shirt from his belt and hurriedly tearing it over his head and flinging it across the room where it hit the wall and fell to the floor in a slumped, dejected manner. At first the girls had yelped at Erik's sudden panic attack, then burst into helpless laughter as they watched him hop around in a paranoid manner while various tropical bird calls escaped his lips, ranging from "Hyneohhyne!", to a soprano warbling.of "Eyahnghra, tickle-not-there!". He completed this marvelous display by grabbing at a leather string that had snaked partially into his pants and flicked the harmless thing away from him. The leather pouch which had been attached to the string flopped on the floor next to it. Despite the deceptive length of the paragraph, the actual scene lasted only five seconds, and the laughter would take another five minutes to dissipate.   
Still giggling, the girls helped Erik re-bundle the clothes while he grudgingly rolled his eyes and pulled his shirt back on. As he did so, Kairi and Jerdania exchanged a quick glance, blushed and tried to preoccupy themselves with anything. Jerdania shoved the re-assembled pile of clothing into Kairi's arms, then knelt down to pluck the small leather satchel off the ground. The leather wasn't cold like the floor, but instead radiated a considerable amount of heat, and it even seemed to be glowing from the inside. "Is this...what I think it is?" She softly asked herself as she stood up, and gazed over at its owner.  
"It's something I found in the temple." Erik lied, feeling that it was partially his fault that Riku had gotten killed in the first place. Then again, Serena seemed to know that all of this was going to happen... come to think of it, he couldn't even bring himself to look at her face, let alone anyone else's... it was his fault, despite his mental arguements.  
"You stole it?" Kairi gasped.  
"No! It was given to me!"   
"But you just said you found it, Erik."  
"Why did you leave the group in the first place when we were in the Ancient Temple, anyways?" Jerdania joined in the fray now.  
"I don't know, alright!"  
Kairi sighed and looked past the angry scowl on his face. "You knew what you were looking for, didn't you?"  
Erik slumped down on a bench and pinched the bridge of his nose as a migraine danced across his forehead. "In Guadosalam, I heard Red talking to someone... they saw me, and Ansem told me what to do, and he gave me that leather bag, said there was something really valuable in it. I don't know, I really didn't think anyone would get hurt. It's my fault Riku's dead."  
"Erik..." even Irvine couldn't say anything.  
"I'm sorry, I thought that because Red knew him, I could trust him. He acted like he was going to help us. Please, just don't tell Akirame, very first chance we get I'll grab all my stuff and head back to Winhill. Take the stupid pouch, I don't want it."  
Kairi and Irvine glanced at each other, wondering what it would be best to do, while Jerdania carefully removed the drawstring from the bag and glanced inside. "You guys, this is pheonix down. I think Ansem knew what he was doing."  
"Pheonix down? But... do you think Aki'd even let us?"  
"Something tells me she would, if she did it herself... and if it works and we get Riku back, then for sure he'll know what do to next."  
"And if it doesn't work?"   
"We drag Ansem to the cargo bay, open the hatch and kick him into the ocean."  
"Guess there's nothing else we can do... Jerdania, you know how this stuff works?" Kairi asked, taking the leather pouch and weighing it testily in her palm.  
"I think so, you'd just take the stuff and sprinkle it over the body. In theory, they say that the way it works is that when someone dies, their soul goes into the lifestream, where normally it's cleansed of all memories, then recycled into a new body. The Pheonix is supposed to be a sort of angel, since it's the only known creature that can actually come into contact with the lifestream and be unharmed. If someone dies before it's their appointed time, putting pheonix down on the body summons the pheonix to the lifestream, where it retrieves the soul ---provided it's still intact--- and returns it to the body."  
"So...who wants to be the one to go and talk to Akirame?" Irvine idly posed the question.  
"Why don't we ask Serena to do it?"  
Everyone stared at Erik. "I mean, her being the sage of this group, next to Ansem of course, it makes sense."  
"Sounds like a solid plan to me," Irvine leaned back against the bench and tossed the leather pouch to Erik. "Go knock yourself out."  
"Hey! What are you guys going to do then?"  
"Absolutely nothing, because that's all we _can _do. You said Riku's death was your fault, this is your chance to make ammends with that."  
"Fine then, I'll do it."  
"That's a good boy."

In general, people who are more aware of their enviroment, who possess that ability which is so difficult to describe in words, let alone text, that ultimately keep them out of serious trouble, and keep them from saying the wrong thing at a social event, right now notice the strange, nonchalant way our heroes seem to be handling the situation.   
Don't look at me like that, I know exactly what you're thinking. "Oh no, it's going to be _another_ long paragraph about insights and psychology. Time to get the popcorn." If you're going to be like that, I might keep going on forever, and you'll never know if Akirame saved the world from destruction. But don't worry. If I ever do decide to get unbelievably theological, I'll write it all in a seperate book, and might talk about it for a bit on some late-night tv show.  
Where was I... ah yes. In a rather unrealistic way, our heroes seem to have somehow come to terms with the recent events, in fact starting with why they all got together and went on this journey to begin with. Well, perhaps an explanation is required. People who know that soon someone they love dearly will have died, or has already died, or in some cases deserves to die, can handle things in one of a few ways. Some people are the kinds who let it become their entire life, who will spend every single second just worrying, plotting or generally just losing their minds. They think far too much about it, and like any poorly built structure, it will all crash down on them. We all know it, or at least those of use who are reading this and are managing to keep up. Now, other people tend to harden themselves, and bear everything right up until the skies have cleared. They make a shell around their minds, and crawl inside to hide, because everything will hurt far less then. The trouble is getting them to come back out, once they realize how easy life can be when you find you can live life without so much as a scratch. Of course, there are more types of people than that, but I can only bore you for so long.  
Our hereos... aren't exactly hereos at all. They're just normal people, who have to cope with trauma, and work through difficult crossword puzzles. Sometimes they even give up. Sometimes they fail. Of course, they all very much know what is going on around them, and that it is so much bigger than them, and that they really have to right/deserve to have such huge roles in everything. As the reader, you all can imagine for yourselves how on earth they're scraping by with this, unless I feel the need to include mention of it, to help set the mood. It's just that there is, in fact, a plot inside all this, and it really needs to keep going.   
And thankfully, all of that needless insight covered just enough time so that I wouldn't have to think of a way to explain anything about Erik, despite Irvine's comment and all that, deciding to go to Serena, to ask her for back up in approaching Akirame, or what exactly he might have felt in his heart about everything. I get to jump straight to "Erik stopped in front of Serena's room," or better yet, "after explaining the situation, Serena agreed."   
That's why I'm a good writer. I know how to pull cheap tricks like that.


	50. Hero's Resurrection

**Chapter 50: Hero's Resurrection  
(In keeping with my own concern for readers who get nightmares way too easy, I just want to warn you that this chapter gets creepy, as far as the creepy factor of my story goes, and that there is going to be a portion of very graphic violence, with blood and everything. I'll mark it off wth a line of asterisks so you know where it is.)  
**Akirame sat on the bed in the ice-cold room,. staring blankly ahead, yet her eyes weren't unseeing. They saw the images that sharply flashed behind them in her mind, changing and melting into one another like a slideshow on the spindel of a top. She was unable to sort through them, the real memories from things her imagination had dreamed up. The only clear detail that stood out in any of them were Riku's eyes, clear, sharp, glowing with life. Or maybe it was just that was the very last thing she saw before she died, his eyes, glittering with pain. Yes, Akirame still sat upright on the bed, she still breathed, she blinked, her heart still beat. But it wasn't the same Akirame. This Akirame was different. This Akirame was darker, unemotional, and brimming with anger just beneath the skin. The old Akirame wouldn't dream of harming someone. This Akirame would kill without blinking. This Akirame didn't so much as budge when she heard a gentle rapping on the metallic door, nor when it opened and footsteps softly approached, bringing along the scent of vanilla and Old Spice. Erik and Serena.  
"Aki...are you okay?" Erik was wary. You don't have Irvine for a roommate without quickly developing a keen sense of danger.  
"What do you want?" The voice was layered with ice.  
Serena took a far more direct approach, and decided to put her life in immediate danger, acting like a stupid camper who decides to impress his friends by putting his foot on the trigger of an unsprung trap. "We're going to bring Riku back."  
"Excuse me?" The trap gave a warning creak.  
"Erik is in possession of an adequate amount of pheonix down to ressurect Riku, but we have to do it quickly, otherwise his memory will be completely wiped."  
"What the hell do you think you're talking about, coming in and suggesting such a completely idiotic suggestion?" Just a bit more pressure and...  
"Akirame, don't be so selfish, we all need Riku right now!"  
Snap. She moved in a blur,her hand streaking like a rattlesnake with perfect accuracy to grip the mullato girl's throat. Serena didn't even flinch. "Aki, he's not dead, he's just asleep."  
"What are you talking about!" Akirame kept her captive in place with one hand as she used the other to hold Erik at arm's length.  
"It isn't his time yet. If we act quickly, we can bring him back with most of his memory intact."  
"Bring him back from where?" Aki's voice was becoming hoarse with emotion.  
"The Farplane, that's where his soul has gone, bound by the lifestream."  
Serena was far too calm, for someone being threatened with the possibility of suffocation at the hands of a teen maddened by grief. Akirame's eyes didn't just gleam they _burned. _  
However Serena's eyes remained calm, despite the heat. They continued to stare at one another, both determined to stand their ground. However, Akirame's eyes didn't constantly waver between past, present and future, planting flickering images into the mind. At last her grip loosened, and she turned back towards the bed. "She's dead, stop trying to get to her."  
Serena narrowed her eyes. "Let her wake up!"  
Erik was at a complete loss for what happened next. Akirame, although she was indeed still the exact same, _changed_. Suddenly she was slightly crouched over in an animal fashion, face twisted into the very essence of a snarl. "Make me."  
Akirame leapt, and seemed to slow down in midair until she was moving at a snail's pace. Serena merely raised a hand, and in a voice heavy laden with authority, said "Leave her."  
A bright light grew around her hand, in which appeared a small seal made of light itself, inscribed with strange, moving symbols. It flew forward and firmly planted itself on Akirame's forehead, and time came back with a loud thunderclap. While Akirame continued forward, and landed in a sprawl on the floor, _ something_ was thrown backwards by the force of the magic seal, and hit the bed with no sound at all. It was like a shadow, a mist shadow wrapped like a cloak around a body. It was a wretched, ugly creature, clawing frantically at the seal on its head. It gave a scream that made the windows vibrate. In a thousand languages all at once, it screamed for mercy. Erik wasted no time in crying out the obligatory "Oh shit, what is that thing?"   
"A demon of despair, one of Sin's spawn. There'll be another one in this room somewhere, since they always work in pairs. Keep your eyes peeled while I dispose of this one."  
Erik swallowed and watched as she, from seemingly nowhere at all, produced a long, beautiful stake of light from her clothes, and quickly thrust it down through the demon's body, and in a burst of shadows and light, it seemed to melt into the blanket, and nothing was left. There was a strange flicker of motion coming from the direction of the bathroom. "Serena...the bathroom.." He whispered, glancing in the direction of the slightly cracked door.  
Slowly they crept across the floor, their hearts pounding as the room grew inexplicably darker and more sinister as they neared the ominous door. Sweating, Erik glanced over at her and nodded as he moved behind the door and put his hand on the doorknob while Serena readed herself on the other side of the doorframe. In perfect unison Erik yanked the door open while Serena produced a stake from the air and flung it into the room. There wasn't a single sound from inside. Slowly they both peered into the darkness, straining to see in the inky, endless blackness. 

It struck from behind. Darkness engulfed all of Erik's vision, and he was violently pressed against a clamy, rubbery surface that pulsed and breathed. Hundreds of pounds of pressure threatened to crush him, and at the same time there was nothing there at all. There was blood, thick and sticky, pouring out of his body. He was perfectly intact. In one instant his intestines were being ripped right out of his body and spilling over his feet, in the next, he was whole. At last his will snapped like a stretched rubber band, and he felt a sharp, painful and endless peircing pain in his neck.  
Serena screamed in defiance at the sight, Erik being flung against a wall by shadows, which managed to condense itself into the shape of a horrifying beast with an impossible mouth composed of fangs like those of a spider, two of which stretched, elongated and stabbed right through neck, bursting out on the other side. She extracted from the light in the air around her a long, glowing stake, and hurled it directly between the beast's shoulders, pinning it to the wall where it dissolved. 

Erik fell to the floor and trembled madly from head to foot, sweating and deathly pale, eyes rimmed with red. "Erik!" Serena screamed, wrapping her arms tightly around him and holding him to her chest.  
She gently pulled back the collar of his shirt, and as she feared, there were two "scars" of shadow on his neck, like a spider bite on the light. She knew exactly what would become of him, of what the direct infection to his soul would twist him into. There was no sense in trying to stop something that would make him far stronger. All she could do now was help him control himself. Otherwise, there was nothing she could do for him at the moment but wait for the fever to pass. First matters first, before more of those creatures came. She gently tugged on the thin leather string that hung about his neck, snapping it, and grabbed the leather pouch that dangled from it. Hurrying over to the sleeping bag which lay respectfully on the bed, she didn't hesitate to find the zipper and all but rip it open.  
Riku's body was completely perfect, untouched by even the faintest signs of decomposition. As she reached out to brush away the hair from his face, she felt that his skin was still warm. Swallowing, she slowly opened the leather pouch and trembled in respectful awe at the flames that poured out. With one hand she tugged the zipper further down and peeled back the grungy material of the sleeping back to expose all of the boy's body. "It's time for you to wake up, Riku."  
Akirame slowly pushed herself off the floor in a daze, and looked around towards the bed, and her eyes widened. She had to be dreaming. From the pouch that Serena held over Riku's chest, feathers made of fibers of flame floated down onto his body, enough to constitute a fistful. Suddenly, like an enclosed fire when the door is opened to introduce fresh oxygen, the feathers burst and the flame engulfed his body, eating away the material of his clothes. She was burning him alive! Slowly, Akirame forced herself up onto her feet, and like swimming through a dream, she moved forward. She had to stop it, she had to save him.   
Slowly, consciousness started to return to him. He felt something tugging him along, leading him, guiding him to where he should be. He could feel the warmth, the need for him to get there quickly. His lungs, frozen up with disuse, took in a deep, aching breath. His heart jolted, and began to beat. Blood unfroze and resumed flowing. _Wake up. _His eyelids fluttered, then slid open. He found himself staring up at a white surface, burnt with the outline of a bird. A voice crying his name broke the spell-like effect, and he realized it was a ceiling. Expecting to find his limbs heavy and hard to move, he was surprised when his hands easily slid upwards to give him support as he sat up. The most beautiful girl he had ever seen flung themselves onto the edge of the bed on which he lay, utterly naked, and crawled over him, wrapping her arms tightly around his shoulders and crying hysterically into his hair. His heart burned madly with love, which spread to the rest of his body as the girl pressed her lips firmly, almost angrily against his. He was utterly, helplessly in love with this girl, he knew it. Sighing, he stared unseeingly as he wrapped a long, wavy lock of blue hair dipped in magenta around his finger. The question was, who was she?


	51. Chapter 51

**Chapter 51: The one between Chapters 50, and 52! **

Riku sighed as the beautiful girl, whose name was at the tip of his tongue but a blank in his mind, shifted in his arms and continued dreaming. He wasn't exactly certain how to take what had just happened in the past two hours, nor was he certain it was a normal thing for him. But he'd certainly enjoyed it. It'd gone along the lines of the girl berating him for dying and leaving her all alone, which had left bruises on his chest, then in a rather angry, yet passionate way she'd poured out all her heart to him, while he'd held her and tried to comfort her. After a while he'd kissed her, because it felt like the thing to do at the moment and... well... the next thing he remembered clearly was when she was taking her top off, and from there all the bits sort of melted into each other in a confusing way. There had been a lot more kissing, an amazing rush of pleasure and burning need, and an indefinite amount of warm, soft flesh had passed under his hands. He'd enjoyed it, no doubt about that. But there was something that was bothering him deeply. He simply could not, for the life of him, remember her name, or come to think of it, anything at all about her. Oh well, he was certain that Sora... Sora? The name was in his mind, clearer than most other thoughts. Sora was his best friend since childhood. It'd been him, Sora, Kairi and... someone else, he was sure, who all lived together on an island somewhere... he was sort of the leader of them, as he was the oldest.  
Frustration welled up inside his chest. How could he possibly forget the name of the girl whose very presence made him feel so weak inside, completely helpless and vulnerable? Something was wrong there, he could sense it, but beyond that his mind began to itch in a feverish way. That and the fact that all these thoughts were running around aimlessly in his mind, waving their hands and screaming in general chaos and panic. Yes, he'd talk to Sora.  
The girl opened her glittering ice-blue eyes and looked up at him, and his heart stopped. "H-hi." He managed to force out, then remembered to breathe again.  
She chuckled and shook her head as she pulled strands of hair away from his face, then rolled over and leaned her head against his chest. "Giddy, huh?" She spoke at last.  
"Well, that among other things."  
"Like?"  
"A little confused about what just happened, but otherwise I feel amazingly good."  
The girl's eyebrows knitted themselves together a bit. "And...is that all?"  
Riku felt there was an answer that was expected of him. He quickly drew on the first thought that came to mind. "I'm madly in love with you."  
Bingo! She blushed and kissed his cheek, then hugged him tightly. "I think we should get dressed and talk to the rest of the gang."  
"What, now?"  
"Well how long do you plan on making everyone wait to see you again? They did miss you too, you know."  
"Wait, you mean they're all going to want to--"  
"Don't you dare say it!" she raised a threatening fist, and he whimpered and retreated under the covers, curling up into a ball.  
"I'm sorry." He wiggled closer to her and puts his arms testingly around her waist. She sighed and patted the bulge under the blankets that was presumably his head, and a floated in a stylized speech bubble above a rather different spot, and she yelped as he happily pounced onto her. "They can wait forever for all I care!"

"Oh Hyne, what happened, Serena? Is he gonna be okay?"  
"Where's Riku and Akirame, did something go wrong?"  
Serena hadn't remembered Erik's body being quite this heavy before, and she grunted as she gently hoisted him onto a table in the cafeteria. "They're fine, but they need rest for now. There was an ambush in the room."  
"An ambush? By who!"  
"Demons of Emotion, the children of Sin. Despair and Anger, I'd think from the way they attacked us."  
"Say _what?"  
_"I'll explain later. Irvine and Sora, I need you to go to the room that Erik's staying in and block out all the windows so there's no sunlight in there."  
"What, why?"  
"Just do it!"  
The two boys nodded and hastily ran out into the corridor, and at last Serena sat down beside the table and let out a deep sigh.  
Jerdania peered at Erik's pale skin and shivered at the way the shadows didn't fall into their natural places around him, but instead seemed to move around, deepening into an inky black. "What did those...demons do to him?"  
Serena shook her head. "One of them bit him."  
"But I don't see any puncture wounds..."  
"Not the kind that you'd expect to see. They aren't exactly physical creatures, they're more like... shadows that have been given life. They feed on your strongest negative emotions, then use it to attack your very being, your soul."  
"So...in other words..."  
"His soul is actually being redefined."  
"What? You mean that when he comes to, he won't be Erik anymore?"  
"Nono, you see living things like...you and me, for example, are made up of 3 seperate parts which all work together. There's the body, the spirit and the soul. The soul is what defines what shape the body should be, and gives you life. In fact, it _is _your life, what makes your heart keep beating. The spirit is what makes you yourself. It's your personality, all your memories. The body is the physical layer that contains everything."  
"So if his soul is being redefined, then the sort of...life he has will change?"  
"Hopefully it'll only change to a certain point. Sin only has fourteen children, and each one reproduces by turning other living things into copies of itself. The demon didn't have hold of him for long, so with any hope, he'll only be like a hybrid."  
Kairi frowned and silky lock of hair away from Erik's face. "No offense, but he's starting to look like a vampire, or at least more like a goth."  
"You're right, that's so weird," Jerdania agreed, leaning over Erik on the other side. "Look at his hair, it used to be all curly and frizzy, now it's really beautiful, and I think it's longer too!"  
"I know! And his eyelashes are way dark, and so are the lids. Oh wow, feel his skin!"  
"That is so _weird_! When he wakes up, do you think he'll let us give him a wardrobe makeover?"  
"What makes you think he'll want different clothes?"  
"Oh really, can you imagine him looking like Dracula's Sexy Older Son, wearing that bright orange shirt and baggy khakis of his?"  
"Ew, you're right. Do you really think he's sexy?"  
"Are you two done ogling him yet?" Serena asked, clearly annoyed.   
"Sorry."  
Soon Irvine and Sora returned, little bits of tape stuck in their hair. "We did it, we blocked all the windows." Sora managed to wheeze out. "So what's gonna happen to him?"  
"With any luck, nothing too severe. Just as a precaution we want to keep him out of sunlight as much as possible."  
"Really? Why?"  
"The worst scenario for now is that if he's exposed to light any stronger than a candle flame, he might go blind, if not die."  
"Hyne!"  
"Come on, help me move him back into his room, and we'll wait for him to wake up."  
Amazingly enough, Erik's body still had its same dimensions, and he looked incredibly solid in a sort of strange, shifty way, but by now his body was incredibly light, and it only took Kairi and Irvine to easily get him down the hallway and into the now dark room. As soon as they stepped into the dark, they lost sight of him. They knew they were still holding him, but they couldn't see him, even though they could still make out the shapes of each other. "Go ahead and put him onto the bed."  
"But we're still holding him, and we can't even see him! How do we know we won't accidently drop him onto the floor?"  
"If you do, you'll hear a loud thud."  
"Oh, right."  
"Well, that's him on the bed then, now what?"  
"You will all leave very calmly, and let me and Erik be."  
"Gotcha, we'll go back to the cafeteria and mill around."  
"Good idea."  
Serena quietly walked over to the bathroom and flicked on the light, then closed the door to block all all the light but for a thin strip that encircled the doorframe. It wouldn't be much longer before he woke up; she could feel the shadows around her become more aware, more active. She had known from the very beginning that his heart was a delicate balance of darkness and light, all people's hearts were. But his was...different, somehow. Sometimes there are those to whom the rules don't entirely apply. For Erik, the shadows that wrapped themselves so tightly around his heart wasn't necessarily evil, it was just the element that made up most of his existence. Or maybe she just believed that because she didn't want to realize the truth, which was that Erik was in fact evil, deeply obsessed with death, blood and fire. Could she really believe that he'd struck his father with a shard of glass out of self-defense?   
Serena had, from childhood, been a strongly moral person by choice. She was a creature of the light, an angel in her ways. And yet, she'd torn off her own wings and plunged into the dark, murky depths to save a murderer, because she'd fallen in love with him. She was human now, she felt it with every breath her lungs ached for. She was mortal, and susceptible to all the things in the world which taint the soul. She'd already felt anger, pain, jealousy... lust. If she gave into them, she'd be useless to Erik and his companions. Her only real self-defense was her ability to reach within, refine the light of her own spirit, and use it to vanquish those who would spread evil. And yet she wanted to give in so badly... to give the flesh what it screamed out for. She trembled and tightly closed her eyes, wrapping her arms tightly around herself. She'd gone into hell so she could save him when he was dying, to give him a second chance. And now she was human. Was her act really so selfless, or was it merely selfish? Was Erik her equal, or was he still just the charge of his gaurdian angel? Would she ever trust him enough to let him take care of her when she needed it?  
Then again, maybe it would work, the love that she felt so strongly for him. So long as she did what was right, and trusted in Hyne's will for her...

Erik's heart beat strongly, steadily, within his chest. Even his heartbeat wasn't the same anymore. It had a far more elegant, velvet sound to it, like a heart that was beating at an easy, learned pace, unlike the heartbeat of a human, which beats out of the fear of stopping. His lungs filled themselves with air, just the amount needed for the blood that kept his flesh alive. He was far stronger, far better than he'd ever been before, and the power that he know weilded screamed, thrashed and roared about in his mind, and yet at the same time was perfectly still, taking up its throne in his hindbrain, watching and gently guiding him with the keen interest of a cat. He could kill so easily now, his conscience having been given an off switch. The shadows all around him were part of him now, under his control. He soaked them in, relishing the taste, then flexed them and spread them out like a pair of great wings. They searched every corner, becoming extensions of his eyes and feet, showing him everything, even though his eyes were closed. And yet there was a barrier in here, a bright, burning cold ring at the left wing of this space. He inwardly hissed at it in contempt, then turned back. There was another living being in here with him, he could actually hear the uneasy heartbeat and trembling breath. It was afraid of him, and yet it was trying not to be, like a rabbit in a pen of wolves. It was so strangely sensual, the way he felt as he let the shadows gently wrap around the being's soul, and he lightly tugged, drawing it closer to him. With only a little hesitence it lay beside him on the cool blankets. He held the person in his arms the same way a child holds a teddy bear. _What am I? Am I human anymore? Or is my humanity gone now, and all that's left is the shadow, a ghost acting like it's still alive? Can I go back, or did I really die? No, a shadow doesn't feel these things, it only acts. I'm just trapped now, inside the shell...  
_Regaining control of his body wasn't like it was before. He had the feeling that it should feel like being dunked into ice water, the sharpness of reality biting him painfully. But instead it was just slipping into a soft, cotton thickness, warmth bleeding into his skin. He was human, and then again, he wasn't. He was just simply as human as he wanted to be.  
However, despite all of his awesome power-ups, there was no changing the fact that if someone were to come in and shine a flashlight on his face, he'd probably explode. In flames.

Meanwhile, allow a moment for the camera man to hastily jog all the way clear back up the hallway, up a flight of stairs, trip a few times, get back up and then, wheezing and holding his chest as if he were expecting a heartattack, makes it back to the room where Akirame and Riku are currently lodged. Yes, those two are still at it, sad enough. And the authoress had just handed the keys to unlock the door to the camera man to send him in to the rather interesting scene, but alas, her nose began to bleed! (And no joke either, it really did.) Was it a sign from the Gods of Fiction, a warning unto the writer, or was it simply a sign that the recent inclusion of a dog into her household was not going well with her allergies? Either way, there was an awful lot of blood, and after pinching her nose and tilting her head back for a full five minutes, she wasn't in the mood any longer. Besides, by then Riku was already half-way dressed, pulling his shirt on while Akirame showered. However, on the beautiful finer points of bribery, the authoress finally decided that in order to keep her readers happy, she would in fact post a HENTAI scene seperately from the rest of her story. Keep your eyes peeled, it'll be around eventually.


End file.
